


The waves will guide you

by Nijura



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Human Tony, Kidnapping, M/M, MerThor, Merloki, Smut, Sweet Peter, Tony makes bad desicions, merFrigga, merPeter, mersmut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-07-02 06:40:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 94,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15791055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nijura/pseuds/Nijura
Summary: Two beautiful brown eyes stared at him while he stared at the shaking form of an equally beautiful boy. Well it was half of a boy; the other half was of a fish. A mermaid?The boy’s tail was bright red but when the dim light of the yacht hit the scales just right the shimmered blue, how was that even possible?Tony wants to spend a nice evening on his yacht when he makes an quite the catch.





	1. What a catch

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys this is my first Peter/Tony fic and it was kind of an idea I had being bored at work so hope you enjoy

When the sea was calm Tony was also. On the rare occasions that he was out with his small yacht when that was not the case he felt thrilled, excited and most reckless.

Today was a calm day and he enjoyed a nice cool beer and the sound of the waves. He had thrown his anchor not far from his home in Malibu.

The genius leaned back in his chair one arm behind his back staring at the starry sky his mind enjoyably blank. This was why he came out here, to stop thinking, to just enjoy.

Tony blinked as a motion went through the boat. Of course his yacht was not an ordinary vehicle but it had a few technological extras and a net.

Yes, Tony Stark, billionaire, philanthropist, playboy and genius was fishing with his yacht. Pepper had rolled her eyes so hard at that, that Tony thought they would never be able to sit right in place ever again.

Of course he never thought he would catch something with it, he was no fisherman but once in a while he caught a little shark or a turtle. He then pulled the creature up, admired it, maybe shot a selfie and released it back into the ocean.

So to not let the creature wait or hurt itself he quickly got up, carefully put away his beer, he only drinks something like that on his yacht because people who fish drink beer, and pushed the button to pull up the net.

The genius nearly stumbled and fell as another motion went through the ship; apparently he had caught a big shark this time.

Humming lowly he kept pushing the button and the net was slowly pulled out of the water and Tony was glad that he put away his beer because he would have dropped it.

“Holy cra- what in the world?”

Two beautiful brown eyes stared at him while he stared at the shaking form of an equally beautiful boy. Well it was half of a boy; the other half was of a fish. A mermaid?

The boy’s tail was bright red but when the dim light of the yacht hit the scales just right the shimmered blue, how was that even possible?

The mermaid, well merman didn’t seem to like Tony staring at him so he began to move his powerful tail and the construct that held up the net as well as the entire boat began to shake.

“Woah there calm down!”

The boy flinched and stopped moving staring at him with big frightened eyes, “please don’t eat me.” Tony blinked almost missing the whispered words.

“What? Why would I eat you?”

The boy swallowed and looked away, Tony noticed how one hand was tightly gripping the net while the other seemed to fumble behind his back.

“Humans eat fish, don’t they?”

Tony nodded, “yeah we do but you don’t really count as a fish, at least not for me.” The boy exhaled and the gills at his neck flared a little.

The genius was fascinated, he was an engineer and not a biologist but the scientist inside of him couldn’t deny how great this was. He slowly walked closer but the boy stiffed eyeing him like he was cornered prey.

“I never thought merpeople really existed, do they all look like you or are you special? Where do you live? What do you eat?”

The boy seemed to shrink as Tony kept asking questions and his eyes darted right and left looking for a way out. As Tony stood right in front of him, reaching out to touch his tail, the boy let out a shriek and the moved backwards.

The genius jumped backwards as well finally knowing what the boy had been doing behind his back. Apparently he had been armed with a stone dagger and had been cutting the net during their conversation.

The merman dropped to the floor through the hole he had made and pulled himself to the railing but his fin was still caught in the net. Tony watched with big eyes as he tried to pull himself free but only managed to get even more tangled up.

“Woah hey there calm down you are going to hurt yourself,” Tony said as the boy lost hold on the railing and slipped back on the floor, his dagger slid away and Tony lost sight of it.

“F-free me human, or I will curse you!”

The genius raised an eyebrow at the boy, “curse me?” he crossed his arms in front of his chest, “go ahead I tend to welcome changes in my life.”

The merman blushed, like his face turned completely red and it looked so adorable Tony almost felt bad for him. The boy licked his lips obviously nervous, “ah d-don’t force me human I will turn you into a starfish.”

Tony rolled his eyes, “gods boy, if you intent to threaten me try to be a little more convincing, but this,” he made a vague gesture at the trapped merman, “is not threatening at all.”

Tears pooled suddenly in the boy’s eyes, “please let me go.” Tony swallowed, he honestly didn’t want to. The boy was fascinating and beautiful and the scientist inside of him told him to keep him, to study him, but the decent human being inside of him told him to let the boy go.

“I…,” Tony began and his eyes trailed to the tangled fin, he now noticed the blood that had pooled on the deck. An idea sparked in his mind.

“How about that boy, since I caused you to get hurt I will take care of you until your good again and when you are all healed up I will let you go.”

The merman looked at his fin and then at the human still scared and unsure. It was true that swimming with an injured tail was a bad idea; he would attract predators and would most likely be unable to fight them off.

He looked back at the human, could he trust the man? After all his kind was known for their destructive ways and nature, “w-will you hurt me?”

The human rolled his eyes again, a motion he never seen on a merman or mermaid, “I said I will take care of you, does that include hurting you for you?”

With a sigh he resigned to his fate, “alright, I am Peter by the way.” The human raised an eyebrow, walking up to a weird device, pushing a few round…things.

“Peter huh? I am Tony, and this is Jarvis,” he said turning around to him with a big smile. Peter was about to ask who Jarvis was as a voice sounded out of nowhere.

“Welcome on board Sir, we will arrive at the mansion in approximately eight minutes.”

Peter gaped at Tony who wore a smug grin now, “excellent Jarvis, please empty my pool and refill it with saltwater.” The merman blinked slightly confused but he thought he understood now, he had watched humans talk to each other talking through weird little devices and this must be one of those.

“May I touch you?”

Peter tensed as he was pulled out of his thoughts by that question. The human, Tony, had walked up to him and pointed at his trapped fin, “I want to untangle you before your tail is seriously damaged.”

Peter swallowed but nodded sitting up with his back against the railing. For a moment he wondered if he would be able to jump into the water once he was free but the ship was moving really fast and his tail did hurt a lot.

Tony carefully pulled the strings from the net away moving slow so the boy would not be frightened by him. At some point he did touch the tail and it felt exactly like he would expect from a normal fish.

Cool, smooth and a little slick but he also noticed how dry it already was and that alarmed him. So once they arrived in the cave he had especially made for his yacht, he towed it and called for the elevator.

“Now kid I will have to carry you so please help me and don’t move around too much.”

The boy bit his lip but nodded and so Tony picked him up bridal style huffing a little. The merman was surprisingly heavy which was kind of logical since his tail was probably pure muscle mass.

Peter put his arms around Tony’s neck to hold on and did his best to not move as he was carried away from the water. He didn’t like it the least but at the moment he felt like he didn’t have a choice.

His nervousness however grew as he was carried into a metallic box and he couldn’t cover the yelp that escaped him once it began to move.

The human simply chuckled but gladly he didn’t comment. Peter exhaled once the doors slid open and blinked at the interior of the human’s home. It looked so odd.

Suddenly he was aware of Tony’s scent, he smelled part naturally and part unnaturally, some chemical scent was put over his body odour. The boy noticed that he didn’t mind the natural scent of the human.

“So here you go, all for you.”

Peter looked down on the thing that the human had called pool. It was an artificial lake but it looked so unnatural it almost hurt. He didn’t have time to protest however since he was simply dropped into the water.

Peter yelped as he hit the surface but he immediately calmed as the cool water surrounded him. His wound stung a little but it would heal and in this…pool he was at least save from maritime predators.

He looked up to the human who stood at the rim of the pool and instinctively swam into the farthest corner away from him. It was not quite the distance he would have liked but it would suffice.

Tony smiled at the merman. In the water his scales looked even more beautiful and he watched the light dance over them. The change of colours was incredible to watch and he knew he could spend hours simply staring at it.

The genius noticed of course how scared the boy looked once again but there was nothing he could do about it. He forced himself to step back from the pool and walking back inside his home.

The pool was on his balcony so he could see the ocean while swimming in it. Pepper had rolled her eyes at that too.

Tony strolled inside and walked up to the kitchen opening the fridge, he let the doors open so he could talk with Peter if he would emerge from under the water again.

As soon as he left the merman indeed relaxed and peeked out of the water his eyes barely over the surface. Once Tony was inside he swam to the rim and placed his arms on top of it.

Tony of course noticed but he didn’t look so he wouldn’t startle the boy. He pulled out a half-eaten sandwich from the fridge wondering what the merman normally ate.

“Hey Pete,” he called taking a bite from his sandwich. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see the boy flinch but he didn’t hide underwater again.

“My name is Peter,” he yelled but his voice lacked assertiveness. Tony turned to look at him taking another bite while slowly walking towards him.

Peter watched him warily but Tony didn’t get close to him, instead he stopped at the doorway, “you hungry?” The merman frowned and seemed to fight internally against himself.

Finally he nodded, “yes.” Tony swallowed, not because of the food but because of the sound of the word. Gods if the boy were a human and old enough he would absolutely hit on him.

“Well great tell me what you eat and I will feed you.”

Peter thought for a moment, “I eat seaweed and crabs and sometimes fish and sea urchins.” Tony nodded and walked back into the kitchen, “Jarvis did you get that?”

“Of course I did,” the AI replied and Peter flinched a little surprised. Tony smiled and put his plate down, “good, please order us some Sushi and make sure I get a nice fish delivery for the boy tomorrow.”

“At once, Sir,” the voice replied and Tony grinned at Peter. The merman frowned, “what is Sushi?” The genius almost laughed, “you will see.”

 

After that Peter was left alone though Tony told him to call Jarvis if he needed something but Peter couldn’t fathom what he could possibly need.

He swam a few circles in the pool but the thing was almost suffocating small so he stopped again quickly. Instead he looked over the sea watching as the sun slowly began to rise.

Peter could see why Tony had chosen this location to build his home. The boy rested his chin on his folded arm which he placed on the rim of the pool.

His tail almost didn’t hurt anymore and he lazily moved his fin through the water. A weird sound sounded through the home and he jumped turning around with an alarmed look.

“J-Jarvis?”

“Don’t worry Master Peter,” the voice calmly replied, “this was just the doorbell, your food has arrived.” Peter frowned, doorbell? Was that the way human announced their presence to each other?

He heard Tony walk into the room but he only passed through his field of vision before he disappeared again. A moment later he came back into view holding a few weird containers.

“Dinner or looking at the time, breakfast is served little one, come on try it.”

Tony sat down on the rim putting the containers down and opening the first one. Peter couldn’t fight his curiosity and swam to him looking at what the human had to offer.

Tiny pieces of fish on top of white…sand? He frowned in confusion and looked up to the man, “what is that?”

Tony smirked, picking up a piece popping it into his mouth, Peter stared wide eyed.

“This, my fishy friend, is Sushi. Fresh fish on top of a ball of seasoned rice.”

He put the container next to him opening another one, “this is fish with rice, rolled up into a sheet of seaweed, try it.” Peter was unsure of the food, he was really hungry and since he was not offered anything else he had not much of a choice. The merman sighed and picked up a piece with white fish sniffing it carefully. It smelled rather weird, there was something sour and sweet coming from the rice and there was also something spicy underneath the fish.

His stomach growled and a little defeated he popped the odd food into his mouth. It tasted…good? The fish was indeed rather fresh and the rice and the spices did add some nice flavour to it.

Tony must have seen his surprise and laughed, “I take it you like it. Good, now try some of the rolls.” Peter swallowed and picked one of the offered rolls to carefully eat it.

He didn’t taste much of the seaweed but it was also delicious and soon he found himself trying everything the man had bought. It was surprising how many combinations there were and Tony explained that a few rolls were with vegetables that the humans grew on their fields.

Peter had always been rather fascinated with the humans but always too scared to interact with them, besides it was forbidden by law to do so.

He also had watched Tony for quite some time now only in the cover of the dark and from a reasonable distance of course. This night however he had been too deep in thought to see the net and as he noticed it he had already been caught.

He could punch himself for his own stupidity but it would serve no purpose, now he could only be thankful that Tony was nice enough to take care of him.

Tony suddenly yawned rubbing his eyes, “I don’t know about you fishermen’s friend but I need some sleep, so…do you need something to get comfortable or are you good?”

Peter swallowed another piece of Sushi before he answered, “I think I am good, sleep well Tony.” The man smiled warmly at him and rose to his feet, “you to boy wonder, night.”

Peter watched him go finishing the last of his Sushi before sinking to the bottom of the pool. The surface was smooth and cold and he was sure even though it wouldn’t be as comfortable as his own nest at home he would sleep well.

With a yawn he curled up eyeing the cut on his tail, he would take care of that tomorrow or whenever he woke up. With his face resting on one of his arms he fell into a deep slumber.


	2. Humans are weird

Tony woke up with sore arms. He groaned as he wanted to lift them and they ached like hell, apparently his little guest had been a little too heavy for him.

The genius rolled to his side groaning again before getting up, “ugh Jarvis give me an update how is the boy?” He stretched a little before putting on some loose pyjama pants. He liked sleeping nude.

“Master Peter is still sleeping Sir and I cannot detect a noticeable difference in his vital signs in comparison to yesterday.”

Tony nodded letting out a yawn as he patted out of his bedroom and towards the kitchen. It was one in the afternoon and he knew he hadn’t slept enough but that was nothing a good coffee could fix.

He brewed himself a cup taking a large sip once it was finished. With a blissful moan he turned and walked out onto the balcony.

The sea was calm as was the surface of the pool and as Tony carefully stepped closer; he spotted his very own merman. The boy lay curled up on the floor of the pool, his tail bent and his arms around his…knee?

Tony watched him for a while with a fond smile; he was one hell of a cute fish. Taking another sip he walked past the pool and to the banister to watch the waves below.

 

Peter was only dozing as Tony stepped out on the balcony. When the boy woke an hour prior he had hoped that everything had just been a bad dream but once he had peeked around he knew it had all been real.

He heard Tony walking up to the pool and then away. Peter used the opportunity to slowly rise and peek out of the water. Tony’s back was turned to Peter and he was glad about that, it gave him time to think and to admire the man’s backside. Tony was bare to the hips and Peter took in every inch of the toned skin noticing the muscles that came from real physical work.

If Tony had been a merman a lot of females would wait in line to get their eggs fertilized by the man.

Peter shook himself out of his thoughts and took a deep breath swimming slowly to the rim wincing as he felt the sting in his tail.

“Ah good morning?”

Tony flinched and turned around with a surprised expression, “oh ah hi, good morning or afternoon.” The boy watched the human drink something that smelled rather strong and bitter.

“I-I didn’t intend to scare you,” Peter said quietly but Tony shook his head.

“You didn’t I was just lost in thought it is no big deal, happens often,” Tony waved his hand to underline his words.

“How is your wound?”

Peter blushed and pulled himself up so he was sitting on the rim, it was not normal for a merman to be completely out of the water but Peter had no real problem with it, as long as his tail didn’t dry out.

He put his tail on the floor to examine the wound and grimaced, it didn’t look good. The wound hadn’t healed a bit but instead it was swollen and felt hot to the touch.

Tony made a displeased sound, “doesn’t look too good huh?” Peter sighed and shook his head, “not at all, I thought it would just heal but apparently your net had been dirty enough to give me an infection.”

Tony squatted by his tail looking more than guilty. Peter felt almost bad for him but it had been his stupid idea to watch the human, Tony never intended to hurt him, at least that was what he hoped was the case.

Tony sighed, “I am sorry kid,” and he meant it, “tell me how I can help you?” The genius would do anything to undo his mistake; he could not bear the thought of destroying that beautiful tail forever.

Peter shrugged, “normally we just let the wound be or cover it in seaweed or good earth to make sure predators are not attracted.”

Tony frowned, “hm well you are part fish…I know I will call up a vet, Jarvis find a fish specialist.” He stood and walked around the pool inside the house leaving Peter behind who looked confused.

The merman slowly slid back into the water lying on the floor so he had not to move his tail. He waited for another hour until he rose to the surface again, “uh Jarvis?”

It was so weird to talk to someone who was never physically present.

“Yes Master Peter?”

The boy licked his lips as he blushed hard, this was so embarrassing, “I ah well I need to um relieve myself.” He almost hid his face underwater in shame.

“I will call Mr. Stark he can show you to the bathroom.”

Peter blinked, “what is a bathroom?” The AI dutifully responded, “it is the room where humans tend to their needs like cleaning or relieving themselves. How do you clean your body if I may ask?”

Peter frowned at that question, “I rub my body with sand, do humans not do that?” It was interesting and easy to talk to Jarvis he noticed; Peter decided that he liked him.

“Only in regions with little or no water like the desert.”

Peter tilted his head; his current needs forgotten, “what is the desert?” A holographic screen appeared in the middle of the room and Peter stared at it with wide eyes.

The landscape was unbelievable. He had seen dunes before but only on a few beaches and never so big and plenty. Jarvis showed him different deserts until Tony walked in pushing a weird thing in front of him.

“Hey Ariel Jarvis called, just hop into the chair and I will get you to the bathroom.”

Peter stared at the chair in disbelieve, “what is this thing?” Tony smiled and stopped right in front of the pool, “this is called a wheelchair, it is normally used for people who cannot walk and since I don’t want to carry you again and walking is not really your thing I thought it would come in handy and got one.”

Peter nodded slowly a little unsure of what to think of that wheelchair. In the end he felt his needs return and since he refused to soil the tiny pool he just sighed and pushed himself out of the water and into the chair.

It was surprisingly comfortable and Tony easily pushed him through his house and Peter was able to take a look around before he Tony pushed him into a small room.

There was another chair placed and a tiny pool with no water and a weird glass box; he didn’t see how someone could relieve himself in here. Peter looked at Tony showing his confusion and the man chuckled.

“I will explain it to you,” he said as he walked around him. He lifted the lid of the white chair and pointed at it.

“This is a toilet and you sit on it and well ah drop your…business in there and when you are done you flush.”

Tony pushed at a white panel and Peter heard water rushing and he began to understand, he gave the other a quick nod. The human smiled, “you can either wash yourself afterwards or use the toilet paper to wipe away any remains so I hope this will work out but ah call if you need help.”

Peter nodded noticing the look on the human’s face pleading him to not need help. It was almost comical.

In the end it was easy enough for Peter to do his business and Tony didn’t need to help him. The genius was glad about that and happy that they would now never have to talk about this again.

He showed Peter how he could steer the wheelchair by himself and the boy eagerly tried it out in the spacious living room. Tony watched with a fond expression while he readied a few medical supplies.

The vet he had called had given him detailed advice on how to treat a wounded fish since nowadays people even called a vet for their Koi fish. Tony though that to be a little silly but right now he didn’t care.

The man also treated dolphins and other animals in the zoo so he had also some information on treating a wound in salt water.

“Peter if you would stop for a moment I will treat your wound,” Tony announced and the boy complied with a smile. The genius swallowed as he watched the muscles on the boy’s chest move as he rolled the chair towards him.

Tony cleared his throat preparing everything to disinfect the wound and once Peter was in front of him he started to work. The wound was thin but deep where the net had cut through the scales and into the flesh.

Tony felt the guilt return to him as he worked and he could only hope that his actions wouldn’t cause any permanent damage to that beautiful creature.

Peter watched him work flinching once in a while when he touched an especially sore spot but he didn’t complain. Tony finished by spreading some salve over the wound, “you think you can stay out of the water for a little longer?”

The boy nodded, “yeah I should be fine as long as I don’t completely dry out.” Tony nodded, “I think I have a solution for that.”

Quickly he walked into the bathroom and Peter heard water running for a moment until Tony walked back in. He held a wet towel in his hand and placed it on the boy’s lap.

“Here you go, should keep you moist for some time.”

Peter smiled at him actually liking this arrangement, “thank you Mr. Stark I appreciate this.” Tony smiled trying to ignore the warm feeling that pooled inside his stomach as he watched Peter’s face lit up.

The boy rolled away inspecting the couch with as much curiosity as a small child. Tony licked his lips, suddenly a lot more nervous than he should have been.

“Well now kiddo, since you are staying here, how about we learn from each other a little? You know I show you my world and you tell me about yours, I’d like to see it but it is unlikely I learn to hold my breath that long.”

Peter turned the chair around to look at Tony, an apologetic expression on his face, “ah I don’t know if I can do that Mr. Stark, I mean being and speaking here with you is already a crime punishable by death.”

Tony frowned, “what do you mean? You are not allowed to talk to humans?” Peter nodded, “yes, humans are dangerous and if they find out about us we will be hunted and killed for sure so we stay away.”

Tony nodded, it made sense actually, “yeah well I am not going to post a picture of you on twitter so don’t worry.” Peter looked at him confused, “what do you mean by that? Nothing in that sentence made any sense.”

The genius chuckled and shook his head, “oh you have much to learn my Padawan.” Peter looked even more confused but didn’t have time to answer since a weird ringing sound sounded through the room.

Tony sighed, “excuse me this is probably Pepper, she is my assistant.” Peter nodded and Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket walking downstairs and out of sight.

The boy watched him go, “well…Jarvis ah I think you showed me the desert.” The AI responded dutifully, “I did Sir shall we continue?”

Peter smiled and nodded.

 

Tony walked around his workshop while he talked to Pepper, as he thought the woman was pissed at him. With a sigh he sat down in front of his workbench, “I am sorry?”

He hissed as Pepper yelled at him through the phone. Tony put his phone down and Jarvis switched Pepper on a holoscreen, “I told you I am sorry.”

The redhead glared at him, “sorry doesn’t quite make it here Tony, you are expected to take action.” Tony looked at her suddenly angry, “oh sorry that I am not in a good shape since I found out that Obi had used me all those years. I am also terribly sorry for wanting some time off to think of the direction I want to lead this company into.”

Pepper blushed looking a little guilty. A few weeks before they had found out that Obi had sold weapons to terrorists and had also planned to kill Tony on a trip to Afghanistan.

It was only thanks to a reporter that had showed Tony pictures of his weapons in enemy hands that he had investigated. Jarvis had hacked into the Stark Industries server and had found out about Obi’s misdeeds.

Since he had been the closest thing to a father Tony had ever had he of course had been devastated by that revelation and ever since been unable to decide what to do with his company.

Pepper sighed, “alright Tony I am sorry but please read the reports I sent you, they may help you to decide just what to do.”

Tony nodded, “I will, thanks for the help Pep, I appreciate it.” The woman smiled at him gently and the screen darkened as they hung up on each other.

The genius looked around his workshop, his cars his robots and all the stuff he knew and loved but it didn’t feel like the place he wanted to be right now.

With a sigh he stood and walked up the stairs maybe Peter would give him a few answers now and even if he wouldn’t he was still looking forward to spending time in his company.

 

Tony stepped into the living room and stopped dead in his tracks as he found his new companion sitting in front of his TV munching on shrimps, straight out of the container, and watching two and a half man.

“Jarvis? I don’t understand this why is this young one not learning how to fight and defend himself against predators?”

Tony chuckled and waited for the answer from his AI.

“The human don’t have natural predators Master Peter, the only immediate danger comes from other humans.”

Peter frowned at that, “wait, humans are their own worst enemy?” Tony laughed and stepped into the room and to the boy, “humanity in a nutshell, yes that is indeed the case Peter.”

The merman looked at Tony and blushed slightly. Gods how can someone be so cute and real?

“Ah I am sorry I asked Jarvis to teach me about humanity and he suggested I should try to watch some TV,” the boy explained averting his gaze from Tony. The genius smiled, “that was a good idea but I wouldn’t suggest for you to watch Charlie Sheen bang hookers and drink booze as an entry.”

Peter frowned, “what is a hooker?”

Tony switched of the TV, “a woman or a man who has sex with you in exchange for money.” All the boy said was a quiet oh before he blushed again.

“I take it you have them to deep down in magical mermaid land?”

Peter rolled his eyes, “it is not a magical land, we live deep down in an underwater cave system and yes we have hookers, but we call them shrouds or shrouded ones.”

Tony filed the information about his home in the back of his mind and smiled at him, “why do you call them that?” The boy managed to get even redder; he began to roll towards the pool.

“Merpeople mostly don’t have sex, our females lay eggs and we males fertilize them. Sex is said to be for the ones who are…different and more barbaric.”

Tony slowly followed him outside, “why barbaric? Don’t your people like pleasure?” Peter sighed and pulled away the towel and slipped into the water. As he surfaced again he seemed at little more at ease.

“We well,” the boy seemed to be searching for the right words, “I don’t really know but my aunt told me that since we don’t need sex it is seen as something only weak people do.”

Tony frowned, “just because you don’t need it doesn’t mean you cannot find pleasure in it.” He sat down on the edge of the pool looking at the boy, he felt like he would never tire to look at him.

Peter shrugged, “I wouldn’t know I have never even kissed a girl.” Both blinked at each other and Peter now realizing what he had said turned red as a tomato and sunk beneath the surface.

Tony almost laughed but he didn’t want to hurt his feelings so he kept quiet and instead watched as Peter swam once again into the farthest corner from him and hid his face in his hands.

The genius stood and turned to walk inside with a smile on his face, he didn’t know if Peter realized that he had giving him a lot of information about his people.

“Jarvis,” he said picking up a glass and filling it with some scotch at his bar, “you heard everything the boy said right? File these information down into a private folder.”

“Of course Sir do you want to put a copy of that on the Stark Industries databank?”

Tony took a large sip shaking his head, “no I don’t know who I can trust and for now I better keep that to myself.” The AI dutifully obeyed, “very well Sir but I need to inform you that Miss Potts will most likely come to visit soon.”

Tony groaned and run a hand through his hair, of course she would, she was always so worried. Did he pay her that well actually?

He walked up to the couch and picked up the bowl of shrimp the boy had left there. The genius wrinkled his nose at the smell; he really needed to introduce the boy to cheeseburgers.

 

 

As the darkness started to rise Peter emerged from the pool again and got into the wheelchair. He rolled into the living room but there was no sight of Mr. stark and so he rolled into the bathroom without further delay.

Once he was finished he inspected himself in the reflecting surface on the wall. His tail was healthy red and his skin as pale as it usually was.

With a smile he rolled back into the room, “Jarvis does Mr. Stark have sand somewhere?” The AI responded immediately, “I am afraid not am I right to assume that you wish to clean yourself with it?”

Peter nodded and rolled to the cooling device…fridge and opened the door. There was a nice and fresh looking salmon he picked up before closing the door again.

“Yes I’d like to clean myself,” he said rolling in front of the TV again. He took a large bite from the fish happy to notice that it was already cleaned. It tasted really good.

“I will order some sand for you if you wish; does it need to be a certain sort of sand?”

Peter frowned and took another bite, “the kind that is on the ocean ground?” Tony chuckled, “forget it Jarvis I will just get a few buckets from the beach.”

Peter blushed and looked down on his fish taking another bite not looking at the human. Tony noticed of course, “are you alright?” Peter just nodded chewing slowly so he wouldn’t have to talk.

Tony watched him before walking over to the bar getting another drink, “you in for a movie? I think I just have the right thing for you.”

Peter narrowed his eyes as he heard the smirk in the other’s voice but he still nodded. Tony clapped his hands picking up his drink, “excellent Jarvis, the little mermaid, please.”

Jarvis actually sounded like he was shaking his head, “at once Sir.”

 

The movie was confusing but also really enjoyable, Peter knew that Tony had chosen the movie to taunt him a little but the boy had to admit he liked it.

The singing was a little weird but he could identify with the girl, knowing how it is to not fit in and to search for something else to fill the void inside.

“Well that was interesting,” he noted shifting a little to look at Tony. He was laying on the couch a wet blanked spread over his tail while Tony sat in an armchair eating something he called Chinese takeout.

Peter had politely declined his food offer since he was full from his salmon and besides it smelled rather weird.

Tony grinned at him poking his food with a pair of chopsticks, “well how accurate was it?” Peter snorted, “I never said it was accurate.”

The genius tilted his head, “well come on spill it or do I need to make assumptions?” Peter rolled his eyes, “alright but I cannot tell you much, so for once we do not ride giant seashell carriages that are pulled by dolphins. They would never do that, they are…weird creatures.”

Tony frowned, “weird creatures? We humans love them they are funny and calming.” Peter snorted again, “I think we have different points of view at that aspect. We actually try to stay away from dolphins.”

The genius tilted his head chewing on a piece of meat, “why?” Peter sat up and pulled the wheelchair closer to the couch so he could switch seats.

“They can be rather creepy and persistent if they want to mate.”

Tony stared at him with wide eyes trying to figure out if the boy was joking but that was apparently not the case. Peter rolled past him waving his hand, “goodnight Mr. Stark, please don’t forget my sand.”

Tony nodded a little absently and as soon as he heard the boy slip back into the pool he stood and walked into his workshop.

“Jarvis, order someone to bring a few buckets of sand up from the beach,” he said sitting down at his workbench. Excitement rushed through him.

“Of course Sir.”

Tony started his computer, “Jarvis scan the seafloor for cave systems, I really want to know where the boy came from.” The AI projected a 3D hologram into the air that showed the scans and Tony watched as the area grew bigger and bigger.

He hadn’t been this excited for years.


	3. I want to go home

Peter was surprised when he woke up and a mountain of sand was piled next to his pool. His surprise turned to excitement pretty quick and he pushed most of the sand into the pool.

He sat down on the floor and took hands full of it to rub over his skin and tail. It was nice to feel the tiny stones rub away the dirt and things that collected on and between his scales.

Peter kept cleaning his skin until Tony stepped outside and squatted down to look into the pool. With a smile he emerged from the water, “thank you Mr. Stark, thank you a lot.”

The human smiled at him but he looked tired, did he sleep at all?

“Don’t mention it,” Tony said with a wave of his hand, “kid I have a request for you, can you stay underwater for the rest of the day? I am expecting someone and I don’t want you to be seen.”

Peter nodded, “oh ah of course c-can I have breakfast first?” Tony blinked and shot to his feet, “yes, yes of course I will bring you something and I will order some fresh fish too, don’t move.”

Peter chuckled, the human really did seem tired, it was kind of cute actually. Tony came back and pushed a container into his hand, inside were some crabs and some seaweed.

“Thanks I uh I will disappear then.”

The human nodded, letting out a yawn before stepping back inside and for the first time since bringing Peter, he closed the door to the balcony.

The boy frowned at that and sunk underneath the surface to eat his breakfast alone.

 

Tony brewed himself a coffee and took a large sip from his coffee slowly waking up. He briefly hoped that Peter wouldn’t mind his rather brusque entrance but he had no time to think about it since the doorbell rang.

With a sigh he told Jarvis to let Pepper in and only a few seconds later his assistant walked in. As Pepper entered the room he turned to her with a brilliant smile, “Miss Potts.”

Pepper gave him a quick once over look and scoffed, “you haven’t been sleeping again?” Tony chuckled nervously at that but instead of answering he took a sip from his cup.

“And you haven’t read the reports either right?”

Tony managed to look guilty at that but it didn’t manage to calm the redhead down, the opposite was the case. Pepper’s nostrils flared and she forcefully slammed a folder onto the kitchen counter, “read it, now.”

Tony groaned but he didn’t dare to defy her and so he picked up the folder and together they sat down on the couch as he began to read.

 

They spent the next two hours like this. Occasionally Pepper got up and got Tony some coffee or a sandwich from the kitchen refusing to let him go since she feared he would make a run for it.

“I stay with my decision Pepper, no more weapons,” Tony finally said closing the folder to look at her. She nodded but didn’t look too pleased, “I understand.”

“But you don’t like it,” Tony added looking at her over the rim of his cup. The woman sighed, “no, I do not like it but in the end it is your decision.”

Tony nodded putting his cup down.

“However,” she said and Tony looked up to her, “we still need a decision on what we are going to do next; people’s lives depend on it.”

Tony nodded exhaling slowly, he had actually thought of something, “I might want to go into the energy sector.” Pepper gaped at him, “what?”

The genius nodded, “yes the arc reactor needs to develop further and I also want to make sure that our oceans get cleaner.”

Pepper nodded slowly, “well that is ah something now we just have to make a real plan out of it.” Tony smiled and thanked god for Pepper, the best woman that he ever met.

 

Hours went by and Peter grew more and more bored. He was on his back staring at the surface of the water but nothing happened.

He had cleaned himself up and inspected his wound. It was healing nicely and he was sure that not even a proper scar would remain which was good since he didn’t yet know how he was supposed to explain this to his aunt.

The merman sighed as he thought about her, she must be sick with worry and he didn’t like that at all. His heart ached as he thought about her.

Suddenly he felt the urge to get out of this pool and back into the ocean, back home. Peter sat up and sighed, he couldn’t leave now Tony was having a guest over and he could not be seen by another human.

The merman inspected his wound again and again but there was nothing he could do but wait so he grew more and more frustrated. He rolled around and sighed again.

After another hour he grew more and more restless and since he needed to use the bathroom he couldn’t sit still. He grew irritated and finally he went up to slowly peak out of the water.

He spied through the glass doors spotting Tony on the couch a woman with flaming hair opposite of him. Peter wanted to take a closer look at her since merpeople didn’t have red hair.

It would be unfortunate since it would attract predators, Peter was already unfortunate with his red tail but gladly his scales did change into the blue colour when the light hit them.

Even though his red tail was rather unusual it was not unusual for males like him to be more colourful than the females. It was intentional since almost every species had beautiful males to impress the females, while the females were rather plain to not catch the attention of predators.

He licked his lips and tried to catch Tony’s eyes by waving at him. Gladly the genius had thought about taking the seat facing the balcony while the woman had her back to Peter.

Tony actually glanced up catching the boy waving at him. Peter quickly pointed in the direction of the bathroom and grimaced hoping that the human would understand.

Tony blinked and Peter quickly dived down again as the woman followed his look and turned in her seat. With a weird sound Tony jumped to his feet, “I ah I totally forgot the thing I left down in the lab could you go and get it for me Pep?” The woman turned back to him, “the thing? Really Tony what is up?”

The genius gave her a weak smile, “nothing I just…the contract you sent me that is what I left there so would you kindly?”

Pepper huffed obviously annoyed but stood to walk downstairs and once she was out of sight Tony darted out to the balcony.

Peter surfaced again and Tony hissed at him, “are you crazy? I told you to stay put!” The boy flinched from his tone, “ah well sorry I need to use the bathroom.”

Tony turned to look if Pepper was back, “can’t you do it in there for once?” Peter looked at him with an in disgust wrinkled nose, “no that would be gross and my wound could get infected.”

Tony sighed but nodded, getting this point of his, “alright get out quickly.” Peter pushed himself up and Tony lifted him up into his arms, there was no time to get the wheelchair.

Tony had hidden it in one of the broom closets in the house.

As quick as possible he carried him into the bathroom and put him down on the lid of the toilet, “lock the door.” Tony closed it behind him and walked back into the living room.

“Well Tony? What are you hiding?”

The genius froze as he met the stern expression from his assistant. She was standing in the middle of the room the contract carelessly dropped on the coffee table.

Tony was always sure that a woman would be his end and he had also always assumed that it would possibly be Pepper who ended him. Well it was possible that she hadn’t seen anything.

“I was in the bathroom, I am not hiding anything.”

The woman raised an eyebrow obviously not believing any of it. Tony looked at her but instead of saying something else and maybe revealing something he just sat back at the couch.

“Well thanks for the contract, what is it about anyway?”

That seemed to catch Pepper’s attention but not in a positive way. She stomped closer and fell into the seat, “you didn’t even read it!”

Tony winced but was glad that she was occupied with him and not his hidden guest.

 

Peter didn’t lock the door; instead he peeked out of it. The woman was beautiful he thought; her hair and the thinness of her body was so peculiar that he couldn’t keep himself from staring at her.

He licked his lips and watched the humans talk and fiddle around with items he didn’t know and recognized, it was fascinating. Peter chuckled as he realized that he was right now very much like Ariel.

If he and Tony had been alone he would have sang part of your world just because the situation was hilarious in his opinion. Instead he slowly closed the door with a sigh and picked up the different bottles to smell their content.

 

Tony, mostly to soothe Pepper, signed the contract and finally the woman left. The contract had been about the employment of a scientist called Bruce Banner and though Tony was not quite sure why he needed him, Pepper had insisted.

With a sigh he stood, got the wheelchair and slowly walked over to the bathroom knocking on the door, “Pete you can come out.” He heard a yelp and something falling on the floor.

“Ah dammit why is that so slippery? I-I am coming!” the boy announced but the door didn’t open. Tony raised an eyebrow and pushed down the handle and the door opened.

What he saw was…confusing to say the least. The boy was kneeling on the floor a few shampoo bottles strewn over the floor holding one pink bottle in his hand.

The way Peter knelt on the floor his hands covered in pink shampoo, Tony didn’t even know he owned that, and looked up to him was hilarious.

“What were you doing?”

The boy looked a little guilty, “I wanted to know what was in those bottles.” Tony picked up a few of them trying not to laugh.

“And I cannot read your writing, it looks odd to me,” Peter continued looking for something he could wipe his hands off on.

Tony nodded and handed him a towel, “maybe I can teach you.”

To his surprise Peter shook his head as he climbed back into his wheelchair, “no thanks, I am almost healed and I want to go home.” Tony froze at that.

For some reason his throat constricted at the thought of Peter leaving him, he told himself that it was because he hadn’t yet found the cave system and he still wanted to know so much about the boy and his species.

“Mr. Stark?” the soft calling of his name pulled him from his thoughts. With a forced smile he grabbed the boy’s chair and pushed him out of the room, “yes Peter?”

“You will let me go, right?”

Tony stopped in front of the couch and smiled at him, “not before you tried pizza, because that would be a crime in this world.” Peter stared at him with wide eyes unknowing that the man was joking.

Tony picked up the papers on the table, “Jarvis, order us some pizza and put on a movie.” The AI replied dutifully, “right away Sir, what kind of movie would you prefer?”

Tony glanced at Peter, “how about...the beauty and the beast.”

The AI didn’t reply this time instead the movie started to play and Tony sat down at the couch after putting away the papers and handing Peter his wet blanket.

They were halfway through the movie when Tony got up to get them pizza and Peter although he always thought eating something hot disgusting, enjoyed the dish.

He felt a little heavy afterwards but it was just as delicious as Tony had told him. The movie was also good although it was a little confusing at first.

“So if she loves the beast the way he is why did he have to change in the end?”

Tony closed the pizza box with a chuckle, “because that way the can have children and all that and the guy was a prince to begin with, so he only turned back into his true self.”

Peter wiped his fingers on a napkin, “I see, are there any more mermaid movies?” Tony thought for a moment before he shook his head.

“No, not really they do make a few appearances in other movies but they are mostly portrayed as monsters, as far as I know at least.”

Peter wiped his face with the wet blanket, eating that pizza made him feel hot, “monsters? Why is that?” Tony looked at him apparently searching for the right words.

“In many tales mermaids are what led sailors to their doom, they would enchant them with their voices and looks so they would steer their boats into a reef and sink. Then they would drown them and I think eat them.”

Peter looked at him with wide eyes, “you think we would do that?” Tony shrugged, “some of us do and there is a piece of truth in every tale, isn’t it?”

The boy looked at his hands his face a little flushed, “we...some merpeople did that but that was aeons ago. Honestly we thought that humanity would have forgotten by now.”

Tony licked his lips, he loved it when the boy spilled some secrets, “can you tell me more about it?”

Peter looked a little uncomfortable and Tony feared he would just roll back into the pool but he didn’t, instead he sighed.

“We are way more civilized than we were back then, we focus on our survival and try to keep out of the human’s ways, I heard that the reason we did that in the first place was because we envied your technology and riches,” the boy shrugged, “I don’t know if that’s true though, everyone from back then is long dead.”

Tony nodded, “how long do you live normally?” Peter tilted his head thinking, “ah the oldest mermaid was, I think, two hundred years old. The oldest merman about one hundred and fifty years.”

Tony’s eyes widened, “how old are you?” Peter smiled at him a little proud, “I am an adult now, I had my sixteenth hatchingday this year.”

Tony gaped at him, “oh you are just sixteen? I uh I thought, hoped you were older.” Peter frowned, “why?” The human shrugged still looking a little uncomfortable, “well you know humans are officially adults when they turn eighteen so by my standards you are still a child.”

Peter shook his head, “I am not a child Mr. Stark I am a merman and I am able to take care of me.” Tony raised an eyebrow, “says the boy who got caught up in my net.”

Peter blushed heavily and turned his chair around to roll outside. Tony wanted to slap himself for that comment but what good would it do now?

Quickly he rose to his feet and followed the boy outside, “wait, Peter I am sorry.” The Merman ignored him as he pulled the blanket away and dropped it on the side of the pool before he gracefully slipped into the water.

Tony groaned and shook his head, dammit he was so stupid. To his surprise Peter emerged again to look at him, though he was not meeting his eyes, “I want to leave tomorrow.”

The genius simply nodded before Peter sunk into the water again lying on his side on the ground so he wouldn’t have to face Tony.

The human sighed and walked back inside his heart rather heavy, he had never been in a real relationship but he assumed that this was what a fight between spouses feels like.

Tony walked into the kitchen not knowing what he wanted there but his eyes landed on the bin. The gauze he had used on Peter was still in there.

He picked it up and studied the blood on it, “Jarvis find a laboratory which will analyse this quick and discreet.” The AI sounded surprisingly hesitant, “of course Sir, but I must inform you that Master Peter will most likely not like this action.”

Tony put the bloodied utensils into a bag and sealed them, “well then we just don’t tell him about this.”

“Sir the boy seems to trust you I recommend-,”

“Mute!”

Tony Stark, genius, playboy and billionaire was never known to make good decisions while angry.


	4. The Doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter  
> I didnt have much time to write so you will have to wait for a bigger one

Peter didn’t sleep well that night, dreams of his aunt May and her worried face haunted him and as soon as the sun hit the water of his temporary home he jolted awake.

The boy looked around and sighed. The artificial tiles in that unnatural shade of white, the sand and the shape of his pool everything was suddenly too much.

He longed for the sea, for the natural taste of water, for life around him. Slowly he surfaced and looked at the sea, he couldn’t stay any longer, Tony was nice but he was a human and the two of them were never supposed to meet in the first place.

His eyes wandered around and spotted the blanket he always used, he grabbed it and revelled how soft and comforting the fabric felt under his fingers.

Maybe Tony would let him keep it and he could show it off to his friends. Most merfolk didn’t collect human stuff but Peter always liked to collect things and sometimes tinker with them.

The blanket however he would not mess with, no he would keep it and treasure it. With a soft smile he pulled it into the water and as he sat down on the floor he put it around his shoulders enjoying the comfort it brought him.

Tony didn’t sleep well either. He tossed and turned until he gave up and stared at the ceiling until morning arrived. It was frustrating and together with the lack of sleep from last night, it was really nerve grating.

With a sigh Tony sat up and rubbed his face in exhaustion. He stood and put a pair of boxers on not ready to face the world or wearing pants.

He slowly walked into the kitchen yawning while Jarvis, the good soul, already prepared some coffee for him. With another yawn he took the cup and took his first sip trying to ignore the urge to walk out on the balcony.

He was not ready to face Peter, yet either.

The genius passed two hours by sipping coffee and reading the newspaper when Jarvis spoke up.

“Sir, Miss Potts and a guest are here to see you.”

Tony, almost awake now, waved his hand, “let them in.”

“As you wish Sir but I recommend you to put on some clothes.”

The genius emptied his cup and only let out a, “huh?” as Pepper already walked in. She was followed by a man who looked like he got grey too early and probably because he went through some serious shit in his life.

Pepper stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted the genius in his underwear, “god Tony I am bringing a guest put some clothes on for goodness sake.”

Tony, manly to irritate her, ignored her outburst and walked up to the man, “Tony Stark nice to meet you Mr...?” The man shook Tony’s hand a slightly confused smile on his face, “actually it is Dr, Dr Banner.”

The genius nodded fully aware that he was making the other man uncomfortable, “ah yes the scientist I employed yesterday. Good to meet you so soon I guess.”

He pointed at his living room and put his cup down, “make yourself at home while I put something on before you devour me with your eyes completely.”

Pepper rolled her eyes and Dr Banner let out a nervous laugh looking at her for guidance. Tony left them and the woman led him to the couch so they could sit down.

“Is he always this...,” Bruce asked and gestured with his hands in lack of words. Pepper smiled at him trying to appear professional, “well Tony is a genius and you probably know that people like this have their...quirks.”

The man smiled at her in a polite way and nodded, “yeah we are all a little strange.” Pepper smiled, “ah yes you are a genius too, right?” Dr Banner nodded, then shrugged and Pepper chuckled nervously, “sorry if I offended you.”

The Doctor smiled and shook his head, “not at all I was just-who is that?” Pepper sighed and rolled her eyes, “probably one of Tony’s one night stands,” she said before turning around and following the wide open gaze of Dr Banner.

Her mouth fell open.

Both of them stared at the young boy who just pushed himself out of the water of the pool and both of their jaws dropped as they saw the fishtail.

“Holy shit,” Pepper exclaimed.

“Fascinating,” stated the doctor.

“Here I am all dressed up just for you,” Tony remarked as he entered the room. He had simply put on a pair of jeans and a shirt he found on the floor.

“Tony!”

The genius and the boy both flinched at the cry and Peter, who now noticed the humans staring at him, stared back with equally big eyes. Tony jumped and put himself in front of the door while Peter just let himself slide back into the water.

“I-I can explain,” Tony said as Pepper and Dr Banner rose to their feet. The redhead crossed her arms in front of her chest, “oh can you? I highly doubt that Tony.”

The genius rubbed his bearded cheek while Dr Banner slipped past him and out to the pool. He squatted next to the water and looked down at the merman who looked up to him with wide frightened eyes.

“So beautiful, ah sorry my name is Dr Banner. Do you understand me?”

Peter did understand although his voice was muffled through the water, he nodded. The man smiled and oddly enough Peter didn’t felt threated by him. Slowly he rose and peeked out from the water.

“You can call me Bruce,” the human said and smiled at him from where he sat. Peter gave him a shy look, “Peter.” Bruce opened his mouth to say something else as Pepper stormed past Tony and Peter dived down again.

“Pep please it is obvious why I kept this a secret to you,”

Tony said as he followed her. The woman looked furious and even through the water he could hear her clearly.

“You want to tell me that you accidently caught a merman while, probably drunkenly, steering your yacht? You, out of all people?”

The genius laughed nervously and looked to Bruce for help but the man only cleared his throat and looked away, clearly not wanting to choose a side.

With a sigh Tony looked at Peter who stared with wide eyes at Pepper who in turn stared at Tony angrily.

Honestly Tony didn’t think less of Peter for being scared of Pepper, she was a frightening woman and he himself was also utterly scared of her. Not that he would ever admit that out loud.

The genius made a gesture that was supposed to help his assistant to calm down, “now Pepper you clearly scared my guest half to death, which is very rude by the way, so I would like to suggest that we go inside and talk like the grownups we pretend to be while Peter can choose to join us if he likes.”

Bruce nodded, “that is actually a good idea.” Pepper shot him a glare too and the man looked at his feet instantly, but in the end she just let out an exhausted sigh and walked back inside.

Tony let out a breath and winked at Peter before following her and Bruce inside. Peter slowly peeked out of the water. He was unable to understand the humans as they talked inside.

The merman bit his lip as he tried to find the courage to join them. On one hand he was not supposed to talk to either of them, on the other maybe Tony would spill something important if he was not there to shush him.

Swallowing his fear of the red woman he got out of the water and into the wheelchair, pulling his blanket back over his tail. As predicted his wound was completely healed, merpeople always healed fast.

Slowly he pushed his chair into the room and the humans went silent as they stared at him, “uh hi.” Pepper blinked, “hi…I-I am Pepper by the way.”

Peter managed a small smile, “I know Tony told me, you work for him right?” She nodded and slowly stood, “ah may I…touch you? Otherwise I cannot believe you are real.”

The two men watched the exchange with curios expressions, Tony was ready to tell Pepper to back off if her request was too much for the boy but to his surprise he smiled at her.

“If I may touch your hair? It has a really interesting colour.”

Pepper nodded and slowly she walked to him, her fingertips brushing his shoulder while Peter had only eyes for the strands of hair that fell in front of her face.

Her hand pulled the blanket aside and she brushed over the scales with eyes wide in disbelieve. Peter had his fingers brush through her hair and he got a whiff of the shampoo she used.

It smelled the same as the pink one he had spilled in Tony’s bathroom. The boy frowned, was she possibly his secret mate? He looked at the genius surprise to see a dark expression on his face.

She had to be indeed his mate or else he wouldn’t look so displeased at their interaction. The boy cleared his throat and the woman straightened her back, “ah sorry I got carried away.”

With a few quick steps she was back in her seat rubbing the bridge of her nose. She looked stressed out, “well it is good to know that the boy is not one of your experiments,” Tony opened his mouth but she just continued, “although I don’t know how you would have done that. It is also good to know that you two are obviously not lovers.”

Both of them exchanged a look and while Peter frowned, Tony just shrugged.

“But we have a really serious problem here at hand, what do we do with him?”

Tony sighed, “if you would have just let me explain without overreacting,” Pepper shot him an almost deathly glare, “I would have told you that I planned to let him go today. He was injured because of me, I took care of him and now he is fine and can leave.”

Peter nodded, “yes it is like he said, but I really must return home, my aunt and friends will already be searching for me.”

Tony looked at him and bit the inside of his cheek to keep his feelings at bay, he had known from the beginning that the boy would leave, though he hadn’t thought it would be this soon.

This time it was Bruce who got up and walked towards the merman, “do you have to leave? I would love to study you; you are a fascinating being, unlike everything I have ever seen.”

Peter licked his lips and Tony felt the need to stand protectively in front of the boy, “ah sorry but I cannot let you, my people are forbidden to talk with your kind. I have to make sure no one finds out I stayed with Tony or I may get punished.”

Tony felt rage rise inside of him at the thought of the boy getting punished because of his mistake, his hands turned to fists. Pepper knitted her eyebrows together, “well if that’s the case everything is alright and I don’t have to deal with some kind of disaster. Farewell Peter.”

Bruce looked rather disappointed but nodded, “yes, well I guess it is farewell. If you ever want to go on a vacation, I can find pool or a bathtub for you to sleep in.”

Peter laughed and Tony was almost ready to throw the Doctor out of a window as Jarvis spoke up.

“Sir there are three unknown helicopters approaching the house, they are not responding to me.”

Tony looked surprised and Pepper turned to him concerned, “could it be the military?” The genius shook his head and looked outside, “they would have announced themselves or at least Rhodey would have called.”

The woman nodded and her look became even more worried.

“Sir it seems like they are readying their weapons, I suggest that you retreat.”

Tony watched as the helicopters readied their weapons, of course they were equipped with Stark Industries missiles, as he turned around to grab Pepper, “down!”

The first missile hit the structure that held up the house on the cliff and it tilted dangerously. Peter let out a shriek as his chair rolled out on the balcony but Bruce jumped after him and wrapped an arm around his waist his free hand grabbing the doorframe.

Tony looked up to search for them but Pepper, in her panic, had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and he was unable to rise.

“Peter!”

“Mr. Stark!”

Another missile hit the house and the upper floor went up in flames. One of the helicopters hovered over the balcony and three figures dropped down, full in black combat gear.

Tony only saw the weird symbol on their front as they shot in his general direction making him crawl behind the bar. Pepper still clung to him so he just pulled her along.

The two others marched forwards to grab Peter but the boy swung his tail and knocked the feet of one of them from under him. Bruce yelled something but the other two now focused on them and they didn’t stand a chance.

Peter was torn away from the Doctor and knocked out as one of the men hit his temple with his weapon. Bruce lost his hold on the doorframe and slid towards one of the men who simply pointed his gun at him.

“Take your hands off him!” Bruce yelled and kicked the man in the shin. With a hiss the guy knocked him out too.


	5. Oh no

Tony got on his feet once the helicopters began to fly away. There was glass scattered around the floor together with bits and pieces of concrete.

“Peter!”

The genius could only stare as the attackers flew away, how did this happen? With an angry roar he kicked a piece of wall away jumping as a hand touched his shoulder.

It was Pepper.

“Tony, you are hurt.”

He frowned but suddenly he got aware of the blood that was running down the back of his neck. With an annoyed huff he wiped it away, “doesn’t matter.”

Pepper shook her head; she also had a nasty cut on her forehead, “doesn’t matter? Tony your house just got destroyed and we need to get out of here.”

Tony growled but nodded, “Jarvis?”

“The authorities have been notified Sir, there will be an ambulance here in about eight minutes.”

Tony sighed in relieve the AI sounded a little muffled since most speakers were destroyed but at least he was still talking.

It calmed him a little and Pepper was able to pull him outside. She was limping and Tony had to support her at some point. Together they sat down on the steps that led to the house and waited.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When Peter woke up he had one hell of a headache and the hope that everything that had happened was just a very, very bad dream. The merman slowly opened his eyes and noticed that he was at least underwater.

It didn’t make his situation much better though. He was kept in a large cylinder that was filled with seawater and that was so narrow that he couldn’t properly move his tail.

As he looked around he saw a few humans walk around in lab coats that were either talking to each other or looking at strange machines.

It was strange and scary and the merman felt completely overwhelmed with the situation and began to touch the cool glass that surrounded him.

“Ah you woke up, good.”

His head spun around and his eyes locked on a tall human with weird looking facial hair. The man eyed him with a smirk on his lips slowly walking around his prison.

“If you wonder my name is Dr Zemo I am currently leading this little operation here, I am glad to call you my guest.”

Peter looked at the man and if he had had any hair on his body besides his head, they would have stand up by now. The boy took a deep breath and hit the glass.

The human flinched and the others turned to look at him. As most merpeople Peter was incredibly strong so it took him three hits until a tiny crack appeared in the thick glass.

Zemo wrinkled his nose, “stop it or I will make you stop.” Peter bared his teeth posing more confident than he felt and hit the glass again, making the crack grow.

Zemo shook his head, “shock him.” A man in a lab coat walked up to him and pressed a button on a tiny remote. A scream tore from the boy as electricity hit the water.

His body shook violently until the man let go of the button and Peter sunk to the bottom of the cylinder. Peter still shook like a leaf in the wind as he looked up to the humans, “you are cruel creatures.”

Zemo chuckled, “we are humans and you are a fish with a human face and we will do with you as we please.” The man turned to his colleague, “start the program.”

The man cleared his throat, “of course Sir, but what about the Doctor?” Zemo frowned, “what Doctor?” Peter’s eyes widened, they had taken Bruce too?

“Doctor Banner, he was protecting the specimen and so they kind of took him too.”

Zemo shrugged, “kill him we have no use for him.” Peter got up immediately, “no!” The two looked at him and Zemo began to smile, “excuse me?”

Peter swallowed and put his hands on the glass, “please don’t harm the Doctor he didn’t do anything wrong.” Zemo seemed to think about it, “well if you behave and cooperate I might let him live.”

The merman nodded, “I will but I want to see him every day.” The human sighed and waved his hand, “alright,” he agreed and began to walk away, “see to their needs.”

Peter watched him go and even though he didn’t knew it was possible his heart sunk even lower.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Bruce woke with an equally bad headache but sadly enough he was used to it. He sat up slowly rubbing his eyes before taking a deep breath and opening them to look around.

The Doctor sat on the cold hard floor of a rather plain room. It was too small to pace in it but large enough to not feel claustrophobic and while a cot was standing at the wall someone had decided to place him on the floor.

Bruce got up and walked up to the door which was unsurprisingly locked. With a sigh he sat down on the hard cot and rubbed the bump on his head where he got hit.

It still hurt but he was not dizzy, which was a good sign. The genius ran a hand through his hair as he tried to process everything that had happened in such a short time.

Bruce studied the plain grey walls as the door opened and a man in black combat gear entered. He had a riffle in his hands and a mask covered half of his face as he looked down on him, “come.”

Bruce didn’t need his PhDs to know that it was a bad idea to argue with a man that could kill him probably faster than he was able to name all of his titles.

He got up and let the man guide him into a big room that was filled with different lab equipment, computers and cabinets. It almost looked like a chemistry lab if not for the long glass cylinder in the middle of the room.

“The fish wants to talk to you,” the man behind him stated and Bruce simply nodded to signal that he understood.

Carefully he walked up to the cylinder eying the scientists around him form the corner of his eyes before he finally focused on Peter.

The merman looked uninjured aside from the ugly bump that looked like Bruce’s. The boy’s eyes lit up as he spotted the man, “Bruce! You alright?”

The Doctor smiled and put a hand on the cool glass, “I am but how are you? Aside from trapped.” Peter chuckled and let himself sink to the bottom of the cylinder so they were on eyelevel with each other.

“I am alive and so are you, they wanted to kill you.”

The last part of the sentence was whispered and Bruce now noticed that a few of the scientists were watching them with growing interest. The man cleared his throat, “it is alright Peter you are in a worse position then I.”

The boy shook his head, “no I am not, they won’t kill me but I made a deal to keep you safe.” Bruce’s smile fell at that, “no Peter that was a mistake now they own you, I am not important but you are.”

A man walked up to them and laughed, “that is so sweet.” Bruce turned around and frowned at the man, Peter tensed. The stranger was not dressed in a lab coat or combat gear but in an expensive looking suit.

“And you are?”

The man laughed and offered his hand to Bruce, “ah sorry I forgot my manners, my name is Dr Zemo and you are mister Banner right?”

Bruce gave him a quick handshake, “Dr Banner.” Zemo smiled and turned to look at Peter, “he is magnificent isn’t he? A creature perfectly adapted to the sea and still so human. It is glorious.”

Bruce clenched his fists as he listened to the obviously mad man, “what do you want to do with him?” Zemo grinned, “with his help we will create our own mermen, a new class of super soldier.”

The Doctor chuckled and took his glasses off to clean them, “you are crazy, this could take years, decades even and there is no guarantee that Peter’s genetic material is suited for humans.”

Zemo turned to look at him with an quirked eyebrow, “you seem to know a few things about that matter, Doctor.” Bruce shrugged, “I did major in genetic engineering.”

Zemo frowned and turned around to his team, “why didn’t anyone tell me this? He is useful I need to know things like this.” Bruce exchanged a look with Peter who simply shrugged, humans are weird.

“So what is this little organization of yours?” Bruce asked as Zemo turned his attention back to him. The evil man smiled, “we are called Hydra, years ago we immigrated into this country to slowly take it over from the inside. With him,” he nodded in Peter’s direction, “we will have even better chances of success.”

Bruce sighed, “I don’t think you will succeed, there will be people who will fight against you, who will do everything to stop you.”

Zemo let out a dark laugh, “and who might that be?” Peter bared his teeth at him, Tony fucking Stark you asshole he thought.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Tony was quite pissed. The paramedics had forced him into the ambulance and had driven him into the nearest hospital. They hadn’t even listened to his protest and Pepper had made it even worse.

She had told them to ignore him and now he was strapped to a hospital bed wearing a neck collar and fighting the sedative they gave him.

On any other occasion he might have enjoyed the warm fuzzy feeling in his body and the calming effect of the drug but he had no time to lie around. The genius slowly blinked and stared at the ceiling, plain, like every hospital.

“Mr Stark, can you hear me?”

The genius blinked again but because of that stupid collar he couldn’t turn his head to see who was talking to him, “what?” Well it was not his most eloquent reply but the person walked around the bed to look down on him.

It was a man of colour with an eyepatch and a face that told Tony that he didn’t smile very often. He looked rather grim his hands clasped behind his back, “you must have really annoyed them if they tied you to the bed.”

Tony concentrated on moving his tongue and lips to form words, “who are you?” The man smiled at him; well at least a corner of his mouth moved up, “my name is Nick Fury and I came to talk to you about your little guest.”

Tony knitted his eyebrows together, “Pepper?” The man shook his bald head, “don’t worry Miss Potts is save and taken care of I am talking about your other guest.”

Tony hated the effects of the drugs and in his frustration he pulled on his restrains. Fury watched but didn’t comment since someone called his name.

“Director Fury we don’t have much time, Coulson cannot keep them away much longer.”

The voice was female and none Tony had ever heard before. Fury nodded and turned back to Tony, “now listen Stark, we know that you had a merman in your pool that got stolen by Hydra, we offer you help to find him.”

He put a business card on his nightstand and turned to leave before the genius was able to say something. Tony wanted to scream but the exhaustion and drug took over so he slowly fell into a deep dreamless slumber.

 

Tony woke up again in the middle of the night, feeling groggy and a little sick. He rubbed his eyes realizing that his hands were free now and grabbed the cup of water from his nightstand to down it in one go.

The collar had also been removed and he felt a lot better. His entire body of course ached and his ears were still ringing but that would go by and he had more important things to do.

Tony picked up the phone on his nightstand dialling Happy and ordering him to bring the car and some clothes since his old ones were in shreds and awfully dirty. 

As he put the phone down he eyed the business card but didn’t took it, instead he got up and went into the bathroom.

It didn’t take Happy long to come, he brought a pair of pants, some underwear, shoes and an Iron Maiden shirt that Tony liked.

Tony quickly changed out of his hospital dress into the clothes and together they left. The nurse at the front desk did protest but Tony was in no mood to listen so he simply left a message to Pepper and walked out.

“Whereto, Boss?”

Tony closed the door of the car and thought about it playing with the business card until he put it back into his pocket, “Malibu I need to look at Jarvis data.” Happy simply nodded, he worked for Tony long enough to not argue with the Boss’s decisions.

Once they arrived at the house Tony exited the car and walked into the ruins of his home. He was a little surprised that it had not fallen down into the sea.

“Jarvis?”

“Welcome home Sir.”

The genius exhaled and walked to the stairs that led to the basement. They were covered in shards of glass and Tony had no hope that his cars had survived the attack but there was something more important than them down there.

“Good thing you are up, I need your help.”

Tony walked through the remains of the glass door. To his surprise DummE rolled towards him beeping excited. Tony smiled at his bot, “hey boy glad to see you alive.”

As expected the cars were wrecked, at least the one that was still inside, the rest had fallen through a gigantic whole in the wall.

“Sir I must advice you to leave, the structural integrity-,” Tony rolled his eyes and cut the AI off, “skip the lesson Jarv I am here because Peter got kidnapped, or fishnapped and I want to find the bastards that did that.”

The AI sighed, “alright Sir I how can I help.” Tony grinned and rubbed his hands, it was going to be a long night but at least he had a goal, for the first time in what felt forever he had something or someone to work for.


	6. Lets not give up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I had to finish my other fic it took me a bit to finish that sorry but here it is

Peter whimpered and rubbed his arm as Bruce pulled the needle away, “sorry, here put that on the wound.” The boy took the gauze and pressed it on the tiny wound where the Doctor had pierced his skin.

“It is really fascinating, your skin looks like that of a human but it has also tiny scales, it is like fish and human skin combined.”

Peter watched as his blood was taken away and laughed humourless, “yes, fascinating. I cannot believe that you are helping them.” Bruce looked a little guilty, “I am not helping them I am keeping you save Peter, or would you rather have one of them poking you with needles and cut off pieces of your skin?”

The boy grimaced and looked away, tears pooled in his eyes, “no, not really.” Bruce sighed and put a hand on his shoulder, “I am sorry I am just trying to help.”

Peter rubbed his eyes and nodded, “I know but it still hurts, I mean not the nick but everything.” The Doctor nodded and pulled his friend into a quick hug, “I am sure Tony is already searching for you.”

Peter smiled at that but there was also sadness in his eyes. He looked around the room and sighed, “you know I used to watch Tony when he was out with his boat.” Bruce checked his pulse so it looked like he was doing something and listened, “really?”

The boy nodded and let out a nervous chuckle, “yes I was curious, he would always come out at night and stare at the stars and he looked so sad,” the boy swallowed and let out a nervous chuckle, “I mean I think he did it’s not like I know what human expressions look like.”

Bruce wrote something down and nodded, “Pepper told me a few things about Tony, his life wasn’t easy.” Peter ran his hand over the cold metal of the examination table he was sitting on, “and still he is very kind.”

Bruce looked at him for a short moment before he went to retrieve the wheelchair, “I don’t know him yet but I hope I will get to know him.” Peter gave him a soft smile and slipped into the chair.

He was rolled back to his prison that apparently could sink into the floor so he was easier to get in and out of it. With a sigh Peter slipped into the cylinder giving Bruce a last sad look before the water swallowed him.

Bruce took a step back and a guard came to place a heavy metal lid on top of the container so Peter wouldn’t escape. The Doctor sighed and was led back to his cell and once again he really hoped Tony or someone would find him.

 

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Tony’s eyes scanned page after page in a speed that would cause everyone else a real bad headache. One of the perks of being a genius.

“Jarvis, this guy said something about Hydra; find out everything about that, except for the mythology part.”

“Very well Sir, do you want to narrow the search down a little more?”

Tony got up from the chair he had sitting on and walked over to the mini fridge and picked up a can of coke. Pepper, after getting out of the hospital and screaming at him for almost an hour, forced him into a hotel since his house was apparently not save anymore.

She even forbade him to drink and Tony to his own surprise obeyed her.

Tony had transferred Jarvis to a high end laptop and got himself a nice suite in a way too expensive hotel. The Wi-Fi was a little shitty at times but Jarvis was able to his job good enough, it was he who was not performing well enough.

Tony opened the can and took a sip, “search for secret organizations or mercenaries, oh and if you are on it find out who this Fury guy is.”

“I will do my best Sir,” the AI responded. Tony nodded and took another sip walking to the window. He had a nice view of the city but he couldn’t see the ocean and he didn’t like that, it felt like he was even farther away from Peter that way.

With a sigh he emptied the can and threw it in the trash. It had been three days and he was still not closer to the boy. Pepper was dealing with the police, the media and the company while he tried find even the tiniest clue on who those assholes were.

At first he had reviewed all the footage of the attack but besides finding out the kind of helicopter and weapons they used he hadn’t got much more. It had been of course his weapons but without the serial number he was unable to track them.

Not even the helicopters since he sold quite a lot of them.

Tony walked into the bathroom and wrinkled his nose as he saw his reflection, “damn I need a shave.” The genius took off his clothes and took a shower before carefully grooming his beard back into shape.

He heard Jarvis calling and so he walked back into the room to sit back down, “what do you got for me Jarv?” The AI opened a few windows on his laptop and Tony frowned.

“This Mister Fury seems to be part of a highly secretive organization that is called S.H.I.E.L.D. Apart from that I found several reports regarding a secret organization called Hydra, the earliest dating back to the Second World War.”

Tony read over those reports his eyes growing wider and wider. It was only when his phone rang that he shrank up. With a confused look he picked up the phone, “unknown number?” He waited but the damn phone didn’t stop ringing, with a sigh he finally picked up.

“Who is this?”

“Mr Stark we talked back in the hospital, you remember?”

Tony typed something on his laptop, “well ah no I actually have no idea so please don’t call again.” He wanted to hang up but the man quickly spoke up.

“Oh so it is just a coincidence that you are hacking our database right now?”

Tony froze, “I am not.” The man on the other end groaned in annoyance and began to say something but Tony was faster and hung up.

He dialled Pepper and was glad that she picked up after only a few seconds, “hey Pep, how is it going?”

They talked for an hour where she told him of the mess they were in and Tony got so frustrated that he offered her the company, like literally. She was the most capable woman there was and he knew no one better than her and gladly she was mad enough to accept the proposal.

Once they finished he checked his mails and smiled as he got a message he had been waiting for. The workers would finish in two days since Tony paid them to work literally all night and day.

His home would be safe once more and his workshop once again usable to him. Once he was back he would make sure that those guys would pay for everything they had done to him and his friends.

With a smile on his face he declined another call from that Fury guy and instead called Rhodey, “hey man, how are you? Listen I may need a favour from you.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Peter watched as Zemo yelled at a female scientist who apparently did something wrong but honestly he didn’t care enough to listen. He had soon noticed that the man was easy to upset and so it was better not to anger him.

It was really weird how cruel humans are to each other. Merpeople were not completely peaceful either but as long as someone belonged to the same cave everyone tried to get along and most of the time it worked but the humans seem to be cruel no matter if they belonged or not.

Peter made a mental note to ask Bruce about human behaviour when Zemo scoffed at the woman before walking over to Peter. The boy tensed immediately. Whenever the man was close, he was glad that they were separated by a few inches of glass.

The thought of this man touching him was revolting and Peter hated that he was so scared of him. Zemo smiled obviously noticing his discomfort, “how do you like it here so far Peter? Are you well fed?”

Peter managed to glare at the man, “I hope you know that you are the worst kind of person there is.” The human let out a laugh and shook his head, “oh boy you know nothing.”

Peter watched as the man laughed and walked away not caring about his misery. With a sigh the boy sunk to the bottom of the cylinder and rubbed his eyes, hopefully his aunt was okay.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

May swam towards the large cave and one of the guards rolled his eyes but he didn’t stop her from entering. She was only stopped when she was about to enter the throne cave, “I need to speak to the king.”

The guard, May recognized her as Sif one of the few woman who served in their army put a hand on her shoulder. Many gossiped that she dedicated her life to the king because she couldn’t produce fertile eggs but May didn’t care, she was a good mermaid.

“May please calm down there are no news and the king will get angry if you keep pestering him.”

Her tone was soft and her look understanding but it didn’t bring the older any comfort. May let her shoulders slump and put her hands on her face, “tell me Sif is anyone still searching?”

The warrior looked at the sandy floor, “I don’t know.” May scoffed and with a flip of her brown tail she brought some distance between them, “so no, no one is searching for my nephew. Gods above haven’t I lost enough already?”

“What seems to be the matter?”

Sif stood up straight suddenly alarmed, “my queen it is ah it is May again.” May turned to look at the most beautiful mermaid there was, the queen Frigga with her tail that seemed to be made of gold and her silver fins.

People said, she had been locked up until the king wed her, which was why she was so focused on her people, she believed that everyone deserved happiness.

“Oh dear May I am so sorry that your boy has not been found yet,” Frigga said and put an arm around the other mermaid’s shoulder. While May was covered by a normal set of brown woven sea grass that only covered what was needed for modesty, Frigga was covered in something akin to a poncho seemingly weaved from gold.

No one besides royalty would wear this kind of covering since it fulfilled no purpose at all and attracted predators. May looked down not wanting to stare at her queen, “my lady he is my nephew I took him in after his parents died.”

Frigga clicked her tongue and guided her away from the warrior, “so what? He is like a son to you and you care like any mother would, I understand that I worry about my boys too.”

May sighed and nodded swimming next to the queen as she made her way through the caves. The royals lived like everyone else in the caves they had more luxuries surely but apart from that they were on the same level as their people, only better guarded.

“Yes, my lady, but your sons are warriors strong and fierce while my Peter is only strong in his mind, he is a thinker and way too curious for his own good.”

The queen stopped and gave the woman a knowing smile, “Thor is a warrior yes and Loki in his own right too but believe me tragedy can befall us all and I do feel your pain dear, for I once too lost a child.”

May’s eyes widened slightly but she didn’t dare to ask. The queen smiled sadly and took her hands to squeeze them, “worry not dear I shall find out if the search party has made any progress, for you are all my children and I care for you all.”

May looked at her fin, again blinking some tears away, “thank you my queen you are very generous.” To her surprise the mermaid laughed and pulled her into a hug, “this has nothing to do with generosity, like I said I care and it is my duty as queen to look after my people.”

May nodded and went to touch the ground to show her respect but the queen prevented that by grabbing her arm, “none of that nonsense we are not savages anymore, come back again tomorrow and ask for me and I will see you.”

With that the golden mermaid turned around and swam away leaving her subject with a little more hope that she before had dared to feel.    

 

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Tony frowned as he looked at the map, “what do you mean they disappeared?” Rhodey rolled his eyes, “I mean what I said we had them but then suddenly we lost them, and the radar was unable to pick them up again.”

Tony shook his head, “how can the military lose three damn helicopters?” Rhodey crossed his arms in front of his chest giving the other man a dry glare, “you really want to go there Tony?”

The genius sighed and shook his head, “no, not really. Send everything to Jarvis maybe he will find something, I will find those bastards I tell you.” His friend grabbed his arm before he could turn and walk away.

“Tony wait, this is not a game, you were attacked and those guys they don’t play around. They will kill you and you would not stand a chance so please Tony, I beg you. Leave this to the professionals.”

The genius tilted his head and smiled at his old friend, “oh Rhodey shouldn’t you know me better than this already?” With that he turned around and walked away, hearing his friend mutter some profanity.

 

The genius drove to his home and even though the workers were still on it he went inside and down to his workshop. It was good to see it almost restored.

“Jarvis?”

“I’m here Sir.”

Tony licked his lips, “Rhodey was right, wasn’t he? These are dangerous people. They will kill me if they get the chance.”

“Seeing that they already tried I think that highly likely Sir.”

The man exhaled and walked over to his table opening Jarvis’ footage of the attack once more. They had no mercy they were efficient and he had to be to.

To take them down it would most likely take a small army but he would not involve more people in this mess than already were. So he had to be that army.

Tony scoffed, he was no army he was an engineer, a glorified weapons smith. An idea sparked in his mind. Yes, yes he was good in building weapons; maybe, just maybe he would be able to build the best weapon possible.

“Jarvis I want to open a new project in a subfolder inside Peter’s folder, code name Iron man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So give me your predictions or suggestions  
> What characters would you like to see just tell me or hit me up at tumblr Nijura108


	7. Birth of a hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a notice I chose Zemo after the cool and slightly weird villain from the avengers animated series and not the weird whiny guy from civil war.

“No! No you will not touch me with that thing!”

With a mighty flip of his tail Peter threw the agent against the wall the crack that sounded told him that he most likely broke something.

The merman sat in the corner of a room surrounded by Hydra agents and scientists who tried to sedate him. Gods he had enough of needles.

“We will not harm you, we want an x-ray and if you would keep calm we wouldn’t need to sedate you.”

Peter scoffed, “get away from me, where is Bruce?” One of the scientists sighed, “go get the Doctor.” The agent he talked to nodded and walked away to get the man in question.

The merman eyed the remaining men carefully moving his fin like a cat would move his tail. Bruce arrived a few minutes later raising an eyebrow at the scene.

“What is going on here?”

Peter’s voice shook as he answered, “they want to drug me and put me in this strange machine!” With wide eyes the doctor turned to look at one of the white coats, “what does he mean?”

The man rolled his eyes, “we wanted an x-ray but he freaked out so I tried to sedate him but he keeps hurting our agents. Could you please make him comply?”

The older man groaned and ran a hand through his grey hair, “why didn’t you ask me in the first place? I could have helped.” Without waiting for an answer Bruce walked up to the disturbed boy.

“Listen Peter the procedure is harmless and it will be over quickly if you stay still, let them do this and they won’t poke you with another needle, trust me on this.”

His tail flipped nervously but Peter nodded and Bruce helped him into the wheelchair so he could be moved easier. True to his words the procedure was short and soon enough Peter was back in his tiny prison while Bruce stood outside.

The boy noticed that his human friend looked tired and strained, “how long have we been here?” After a brief silence Bruce just shrugged, “I don’t know there is no clock in my cell and I haven’t seen a calendar hanging around and since my sleep cycle has been completely destroyed I honestly can’t tell anymore. A week, two?”

Peter rested his forehead against the cool glass, “gods if I ever get out of this alive my aunts going to kill me.” Bruce chuckled, “tell me about her.”

The merman smiled fondly as he thought about his aunt, “she took me in after my parents died. I only hatched a few years earlier and wouldn’t have survived otherwise.”

Bruce pulled a chair up to the cylinder and smiled at him, “sounds like a great woman ah mermaid to me.” The boy nodded, “she is and she is probably sick with worry, I bet she is annoying everyone who is not searching for me.”

Bruce chuckled but he quickly rose to his feet as Zemo walked up to them.

“It is always heart-warming to see a man bound with his pet but I need you for a moment Doctor, please come along.”

Peter watched them go with an uneasy feeling in his stomach but he didn’t say anything, it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Tony was grinning like a mad man as the arc reactor began to glow, step one of his plan was completed and he the other parts of his project were also proceeding well enough.

“Show me the schematics Jarvis,” he muttered as he wired the reactor to the prototype of the gauntlet.

“Sir it appears Miss Potts is here to see you and she appears to be most insistent.”

Tony groaned and put his tools down, “finish those calculations and order the parts I want this finished next week.” The AI of course responded immediately, “of course Sir, but may I advise you to sleep once in a while, your goal indicates that you intent to only sleep thirty seven minutes a day.”

Tony rolled his eyes, “don’t bother yourself with that Jarv.” With that the genius grabbed his cup full of cold coffee and walked up into the newly finished living room. He had ordered the doors to be a little wider so a wheelchair would fit easier through them.

Pepper stood at the window a stack of papers on the coffee table. Tony almost dreaded talking to her, “hey Pep.” The redhead spun around, “you don’t get to hey me Tony!”

Oh shit.

“Do you know what I have been dealing with the past days? You told me you’d give me the company so I can run it properly but you don’t bother to sign the papers, how am I supposed to work with this?”

Tony swallowed nervously licking his lips, “ah may I offer you something to drink?” He was positive that she would kill him any minute now.

With a tired sigh the woman just sat down on the couch and waved her hand, “coffee with lots of sugar.” The genius nodded eagerly and went to his coffeemaker to get the order done. Anything to please his boss.

He handed the cup over and Pepper clung to it like it was the Holy Grail. The genius suddenly felt bad for loading all of his shit off to his Assistant but his priority was still Peter.

“Listen Pepper, I am sorry I will sign whatever you want and after that the company is yours and I will be off doing my own thing and I will not bother you with anything ever again.”

The red head gave him a tired smile, “somehow Tony, I highly doubt that.”

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

May sat on the smooth stone in front of the table which was also carved of stone, one of the last works her late husband had made. With a finger followed the delicate carvings that Ben had designed for her.

With Peter gone she was all alone in the small cave and the clawing feeling of loneliness would not leave any time soon. The mermaid sniffed and flinched as a knock sounded from outside of the cave. She quickly wiped her eyes swimming to the curtain weaved from seaweed that covered the entrance.

Merpeople don’t use doors since they lived purposely so close to each other and doors would only make them feel divided, the curtains only provided a little privacy.

May took a deep breath and as the water shot through her gills she pushed the curtain to one side and froze. In front of her floated a tall merman with beautiful pale skin a mop of obsidian black hair and an emerald green tail.

“Oh my-my prince what honour to meet you,” May finally gasped bowing deeply in front of the young merman. The second prince chuckled and waved his hand, “no need for such formalities, may I enter?”

May nodded and moved aside to let the royal inside her cave, closing the curtain after him. Loki looked around and his golden fins seemed to glow in the dim light. Like her Peter the prince was rather unfortunate in his colourings but words were that he was one of the most skilled and fastest swimmers there were.

The mermaid nervously fumbled with one the bracelets on her wrist; she wore one for each family member she had lost. She feared that she would soon have to add another one.

“So this is where Peter grew up, he always refused to show me his home he said it was not suitable for a prince.”

May frowned, “and he was right about that but my prince may I inquire why you are here?” Loki turned around a questioning look on his face, “did he never tell you?” The mermaid tilted her head, “tell me what my prince?”

Loki sighed, “Peter and I are friends, and we’ve been for years.” May gaped at him, “he never said anything.” The prince huffed and took a seat at one of the stones Peter usually used, “figured.”

The older looked terribly embarrassed and quickly swam into the kitchen where she grabbed a few fresh clamps and put them on a plate, “I am very sorry my prince,” she exclaimed offering the plate to him.

Loki looked a little surprised at the snacks but took it, cracking one clam open like we would a pistachio to reach for the meat inside. May licked her lips and sat down on another stone, “Peter he…I knew he had secrets but I always thought that this was how boys that age are. I never thought he would hide something like you from me.”

Loki smiled at her and offered the plate to his host, “worry not, I am not offended I was just surprised. He must have had his reasons, he always has his reasons.”

May nodded before asking, “how did you get to become friends?” Loki smiled watching her eating one of the clams before he answered, “I met him in the archives he snuck in after they were closed and that is where I met him. We fought over one of my favourite stories.”

May smiled fondly and sighed, she missed her nephew dearly and she still refused to believe that he was dead. Loki finished another clam, “how long has he been gone now?”

Once again tears pooled in her eyes and she looked away, “over one complete cycle, I think it’s been almost six weeks.” Loki clenched his fists, “I will personally search for him, I have means to find him none other has.”

May shot up the stone plate falling to the sandy floor, “oh no my prince please, you cannot endanger yourself. Peter thinks I don’t know but I was always aware about his trips to the surface. You must not go down the same path.”

The prince smiled at her putting his hands on her shoulders, “dear May I promise you that no harm will come to me and should something happen anyway I assure you that I will take those wounds with pride for it is for a noble cause. Peter is special we both know it and I will not give up on him.”

With that he quickly placed a kiss on her hair, a gesture that let her gasp in surprise, and swam out of the small cave.

 

Loki quickly swam back to his home only to get greeted by a broad merman with blond hair and a silver grey tail with black fins. The prince sighed internally as his brother grinned at him, “there you are Loki, where have you swum off to?”

The second prince gave his brother a timid smile continuing his way to the archives, “visiting a friend’s place.” Thor followed him easily, “oh how come?”

Loki took a deep breath before he stopped, turned and faced his older brother, they only hatched two years from each other but it annoyed him just how much he was behaving as the big brother.

“Listen Thor I have something to do so if you want something, state it let me tell you to fuck off and we will both go our separate ways as we always do.”

The first prince frowned, “I don’t know why you are like this Loki, I wanted to ask you if you would like to come and with me and our friends to Jotunheim.” Loki scoffed, “your friends and no!”

Without another look he swam away leaving his startled brother behind.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Tony was frustrated. The building of his new weapon was taking longer than anticipated and he hated himself for every minute he wasted.

The workshop was dark and smelled weird as he stared at the monitor one repulsor already attached to his arm. The math was easy enough for him but reality had the annoying habit to always get in the way.

“Jarvis?”

“Yes Sir?”

The genius licked his lips, “anything new about those Hydra guys? Did they do something?” The AI waited for a moment, “according to my records there was no incident that is likely to be their doing Sir.”

Tony huffed and walked forwards to step into his new boots while he also attached the second repulsor to his other hand, “alright I am going to test these babies now, no calls except for Pepper or Rhodey.”

“Sir may I inform you that Mr Fury tries to contact you again?”

“You may but I will keep ignoring him,” Tony replied as he got into the right stance for his test flight. The two robots beeped and circled him warily.

“Now you two if you do something stupid I will donate you to a community college.”

The robots backed off a little and Tony drew a deep breath before he started his boots and repulsors. With a dull bang he hit the ceiling and landed face first on the floor.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Bruce frowned as he studied the boy’s x-rays it was fascinating and unlike anything he had ever seen and he feared what Hydra would do with that.

The people were buzzing around him as he stared at the pictures. Zemo stood next to him and grinned a satisfied grin. Bruce shuddered inwardly but managed to keep his façade of indifference, he would not give that bastard that satisfaction also.

“He is magnificent isn’t he?”

Bruce rolled his eyes, “yes you keep saying that, still he is a living creature that deserves to be treated with respect.” The evil man laughed and looked directly at Bruce, “he will be the gateway to a great future for humankind, is this not the greatest honour something like him can get?”

It was disturbing to listen to the man and Bruce shook his head taking a few steps away from him, he felt tainted by the mere presence of the man.

“You talk like he is an animal, like he doesn’t feel. He has a name, it is Peter and he has family, friends just like any of us!”

Zemo watched him with a smile that told him that he didn’t care the least about the poor boy. It was crazy, Zemo was crazy.

“Tell me one thing Zemo, how did you find out about him anyway?”

The man picked a piece of dirt off his shirt and turned to look at the pictures again, “your friend Tony Stark,” he began but Bruce cut in.

“He is not my friend, actually he is my employer.”

“Sent a few samples into a laboratory, blood and tissue mostly but one of our men noticed the anomalies in the DNA and informed us. We simply found out where Stark lived and seized the prize.”

Bruce sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. How could the genius Tony Stark be this stupid? If they ever got to see each other again he would certainly ask him.

With a sigh the Doctor went to one of the guards and was led back into his cell where he lay down on the cot. It was as uncomfortable as can be but he would have to make do.

His eyes burned from being tired and so he took off his glasses and tried to fall asleep but his dreams were haunted by innocent, teary brown eyes.

 

Peter slowly but steadily hit his head against the glass of his prison, he was certain either he would just die here or he would go crazy first.

A few of the scientists watched him with alarmed expressions and so he closed his eyes so he didn’t have to see them anymore. His mind wandered to May and her gentle smile and simple cooking and then to Tony with his pizza and sushi and Peter had to smile.

He honestly missed the man, his jokes and stupid nicknames half of them Peter never understood but he never really cared. The boy stopped his motion for a moment to send a prayer to the gods wishing that Tony had not abandoned him yet.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Tony took a deep breath before he gave the signal and Jarvis assembled the first prototype of his suit on his body. It was tight and stiff but he would get used to it, he had to.

“Sir I think you rushed this a little,” the AI stated but Tony just rolled his eyes.

“Jarvis it’s almost been two months and I cannot let Peter wait any longer I need to find him,” Tony winced slightly as the robotic arm tightened the suit around his crotch.

“Of course Sir. It has come to my notice that S.H.I.E.L.D. has found three potential bases of Hydra.”

Tony smiled and waited for the upload of Jarvis into his suit to be complete, “excellent Smithers I will check them out if this suit is fully functional.”

He began to move in the suit, roll his joints and test his mobility as an idea sparked in his mind.

“Jarvis clear the sky I will take this baby for a ride.”

“As you wish Sir but I advise you against it.”

“Noted and ignored, are you done?”

“Yes Sir.”

With a grin on his face Tony started the engines and after a few minutes of trying he managed to get out of his workshop and high up into the sky.

“Holy crap this is amazing!” he screamed at the nightly sky as he felt the adrenalin rush though his blood and a manic laughter fell from his lips.

This was unbelievably cool.

Tony flew higher and higher ignoring Jarvis concerned words as suddenly the systems failed. His eyes widened as he realized that he was falling, “oh shit, oh shit, oh shit Jarvis!”

The pavement came disturbingly quickly closer and Tony mentally prepared himself for his untimely end as the system rebooted and the repulsors fired up again.

The genius nearly crashed into a building but managed to get back home with only minor scratches.

“Gods Jarvis we need to find a solution for the icing problem show me the charts.”

It only took Tony a few minutes to select the needed elements and colours for his armour. He finally was finished; finally he would go and save Peter.

The genius yawned and the AI spoke up, “Sir the completion will take approximately eight hours so I suggest you would rest so you are fully capable to save Master Peter.”

Tony yawned again, “I can’t argue with that, alright Jarv wake me when the suit is finished.”

“I will Sir.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Loki swam to the cave and looked around but he was unable to spot a predator or another merman. With a sigh he grabbed the bag he carried and opened it pulling out a giant squid he caught earlier.

“Jor, wake up I brought you lunch!” the prince called into the cave and he could hear his pet move inside. Carefully he swam closer and threw the squid inside before grabbing another one from the bag.

“Jor I need your help. I need to find a friend and you are the only one who can find him. Please help me.”

Suddenly two golden eyes began to gleam in the dark and the movement of the giant body to which those eyes belonged to made sand fall from the ceiling of the cave.

The low hiss that sounded from the darkness told the prince that his pet was not pleased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think  
> Thanks for reading


	8. Go! Go! Iron Man!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this took me surprisingly long sorry for that

Bruce looked down on the sample and his insides turned cold. They had made their first tries with mixing Peters, well fish, DNA with normal human DNA and they had almost succeeded.

How was that possible? Something like this should take years and years of try and error to accomplish but they managed to get it done in a few fucking weeks. Maybe Zemo was smarter than he looked.

The scientist licked his lips nervously and looked up to the mad man who had a way too satisfied grin on his face, “and? What do you think doctor?”

Bruce grimaced at him, “this is surprising I would never have guessed that your men would have such an early success.” The man’s grin grew even wider and patted his shoulder, “me too but here we are.”

Zemo waved at a guard and the man stepped closer to grab Bruce by the shoulder and lead him away. For a moment Bruce considered fighting back but what good would that do? He was neither strong nor a good fighter and they would only get into trouble.

After the door locked behind him, Bruce sat down on his cot kneading his hands thinking frantically, he had to sabotage the project somehow. This was not allowed to continue and he needed to delay any further success. He stood pacing around the small room which basically meant that he took three steps into one direction turned around and walked into the other.

Suddenly the whole building shook and Bruce had to reach for the wall to not fall to the floor. What was happening now?

 

Peter was jolted awake as his prison began to shake. With panicked eyes he touched the glass and looked around. The humans looked completely confused but as the ceiling shattered they began to scream and disperse.

Peter stared with wide eyes as a thing; well he had no word for it, in red and gold landed in the middle of the room. It was human shaped and obviously intelligent since it looked around the room focusing on the men holding weapons.

The guards began to shoot it but the bullets uselessly hit the skin and the thing just raised a hand and a light and some kind of explosion happened that threw the humans to the ground.

A man jumped at it trying to knock it off its legs but the thing didn’t even falter, it just grabbed the man by the face and smashed him into the ground.

More shooting was coming from above them and the thing let out an annoyed and quite human sounding sound. It pointed its fist at the men and something like a tiny spear flew towards the men and the ground under them exploded and they were thrown to the ground.

Peter licked his lips watching the scene. He would never be able to describe it since he didn’t know how; he didn’t know the words for half the things that just happened. The thing turned and looked at him and Peter swallowed but something caught his eyes.

“Watch out!”

He didn’t know why he warned the thing but he knew that he could not let Zemo harm it. It spun around just in time to see Zemo charge at it. The man held a sword in his hand and attacked viciously.

The mad man was obviously very well trained in the art of swordfight and the thing did look, well it didn’t have any facial expression so it was hard to tell what it looked like. Peter just guessed it was surprised.

After hitting the red skin and not hurting the thing, Zemo aimed to pierce between the plates of skin and almost succeeded but it just sidestepped his attack and with another explosion coming from its hand, directly in Zemo’s face, threw the man back against the wall.

Peter exhaled as the thing turned around and the golden face lifted to reveal, “Tony!” The human grinned and nodded, “yes the one and only, baby.”

The merman almost cried but managed to just chuckle and shake his head, “gods Tony I thought you forgot about me.” Tony also shook his head and examined his prison hitting it with his fist, “I would never Peter, the entire time I was thinking about you.”

He hit it again and the glass shattered and Peter was pulled outside by the water. Tony caught him and lifted him up like a bride, “and now we can go and romantically ride into the sunset.”

Peter put an arm around his neck, “no, we need to find Bruce!” Tony frowned but nodded placing the boy down in a chair, “I trust they won’t hurt you so if someone shows up unexpectedly just scream.”

Peter nodded and Tony went to look at the system finding the man’s cell quick enough. He flew through the corridors blasting a few Hydra goons who were stupid enough to face him.

Tony stopped in front of the cell and simply ripped the door out of his hold, “what’s up doc?” Bruce blinked and jumped up from cot he had been sitting on, “Tony?”

Said man lifted his faceplate and grinned at the scientist, “oh yes, here to bust you out.” Bruce chuckled at that, “good to hear but we can’t just leave.”

With a sigh Tony raised an eyebrow, “why not? I already got Peter out why should we wait?” The scientist walked past him and down the corridor to the main area where the merman sat in the chair.

A little annoyed Tony followed him; the suit was not made for walking around much.

“Peter you alright?”

The boy still sat where Tony had left him and looked completely unbothered. He smiled and nodded, “yes Bruce, now we can finally escape.” Bruce shook his head, “no not yet.” Tony groaned, “why do you people keep saying that?”

Peter watched with a frown as the human walked up to one of the computers and began typing, “why not?” Tony walked up to Bruce looking at what he was doing, “you know Jarvis could help if you tell me what’s up.”

The doctor opened a file and showed it to the armoured man, “they had a breakthrough and we must delete all about it or else they might use it. Hydra could actually manage to make their own super soldiers with that.”

Tony chuckled, “but Bruce that would take years.” With a scoff the other man just pointed at a something at the monitor and Tony’s eyes widened, “alright get your point I will have Jarvis search their databanks and delete all files but we really should go.”

Finally Bruce nodded and Tony went to pick up Peter, “I spotted a helicopter on my way in you can take it.” The scientist didn’t look thrilled but Tony ignored it.

“Tony wait, I cannot fly a helicopter!”

The genius rolled his eyes behind his mask, “of course you can’t but Jarvis can so come along.” Quickly the doctor followed behind as Tony led the way to a landing platform.

“I will take Peter you take the Heli see you back in Malibu doc,” and with that the armoured man took off into the sky.

Peter since being a creature of the sea he of course never flew so he was genuinely terrified by being carried through the air at a ridiculous speed.

The scream that tore from the boy’s throat was heard far and wide and while Tony was only slightly startled another creature was excited by it.

“Jesus calm down Pete,” Tony said trying to calm the boy by flying lower so they were almost touching the water beneath them. He also managed to slow down a little so the merman opened his eyes peeking around carefully.

Like classic villains Hydra had built the base on an island in the middle of the ocean, the only thing that had been missing was a volcano.

Peter had his arms wrapped around Tony as he stared wide eyed at the sea. Never had he been able to get such a view of the world and a smile broke out on his face.

The boy reached out and his fingertips brushed the water. A laugh escaped him. Tony chuckled as he watched the boy.

“You like it?”

Peter looked up and noticed that Tony had lifted his faceplate and smiled down at his friend. They shared a look and Peter blushed deeply while Tony smirked.

“I have a question, do your people kiss?”

The merman managed to almost get as red as his tail but he nodded and when Tony moved to catch his lips the boy went to meet him halfway. Sadly though they never touched.

A loud roar erupted from behind them and suddenly Tony was pulled underwater. Peter yelped and fell down breaking the surface watching as Tony struggled and hit the water.

Gladly Tony remembered to close the faceplate so he didn’t swallowed too much seawater but just as he managed to orientate himself he was thrown up again and Peter was able to spot the giant angry looking snake that had its tail wrapped around his legs.

“Peter!”

The merman spun around and came face to face with the second prince, “Loki?” The slightly older merman wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug.

“My god Peter, where have you been?”

Peter looked at his friend and felt guilty as he saw the worry in his eyes, “I-I will explain it to you but please make Jormungandr stop, Tony is a friend.”

Just on cue the human was pulled underwater again the tail now completely wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides and his legs together. Peter was certain that he would not drown thanks to the armour but he didn’t want to risk it.

Loki raised an eyebrow, “this thing is your friend?” The merman nodded and swam over trying to untie Tony from the tail, “yes and he is a human.”

Loki and his pet hissed in unison, “a human? Peter, don’t tell me you talked and became friends with a human!” The younger blushed, “I…make Jor let him go and I will explain everything.”

The prince clearly didn’t like the deal but he turned to his beloved pet, “Jor let him go we found Peter so you can go home.” To underline his words he pulled a huge crab out of his bag and threw it into the snake’s mouth.

Obviously satisfied, it unwrapped its black tail from Tony and disappeared into the deep waters. The human immediately shot out of the water and Peter followed while Loki hesitated.

“Thanks for making the thing disappear,” Tony said hovering right over the water level. Peter looked up to him, “sorry for that Tony but Loki just wanted to protect me, you alright?”

The genius nodded and looked at the prince who now slowly rose from the water glaring at the human, “you are friends with Peter?”

The black haired merman hissed at him, “it is forbidden to talk to humans.” Tony raised an eyebrow behind his mask, “nice talk well Peter, are you coming?”

The boy looked rather torn, “I…we will swim Tony and meet you at your house.” The human nodded and had his face not been hidden Peter would have been able to see how concerned he looked.

In truth it irked the man that Peter would not go with him and he feared that the glaring but good looking merman would convince him to not go back, but what choice did he have. If he decided to just pick Peter up and carry him back he would probably call his pet on him again.

Who the hell has a giant sea snake as a pet anyway? That thing probably already lived when the dinosaurs still walked the earth. If that beast would ever attack him again Tony vowed to skin it and make some silly cowboy boots out of it.

In the end Tony nodded, “see you there Pete.” The merman smiled and with a quick nod he dived down and began to swim. It felt heavenly to him.

Loki was right next to him, “do you even know how many rules you broke?” Peter rolled his eyes at his friend, “as if you cared so much about rules trickster.”

At that Loki actually blushed a little but he kept his gaze locked on the other merman, “alright I give you that but it’s not just the rules, you know it is against the law to interact with humans. They are dangerous.”  

With That Peter could not argue, he had seen and experienced it first-hand. His silence seemed to be enough of an answer to Loki since the prince turned to look forward again.

They shot through the water for a while without speaking but it didn’t last too long.

“How is May?”

Loki glanced at his friend. Peter looked guilty and concerned, “she is well, sick with worry but well. I paid her a visit.” Peter’s head snapped around and he made big eyes at his friend, “you visited my home?”

The prince grinned smugly at him, “I did, it was nice, don’t know why you never invited me.” Peter actually blushed and looked away, “you know why, besides your father wouldn’t approve.”

Loki rolled his eyes and turned on his back still keeping up with the younger without problems, “my father doesn’t approve of anything besides Thor so I don’t care.”

There was a bit of truth in the merman’s words Peter knew but he would also be a fool if he would displease the king. For his and of course May’s sake he had to act nice.

The two mermen continued their journey for a while until Loki spoke up again, “please tell me what happened, I was really worried.” Peter heard the sincerity out of his voice and sighed, “alright I’ll tell you but you have to promise to keep quiet until I am finished.”

The prince grimaced and turned around to swim properly again, “alright I promise now tell.” Peter thought back on the day when Tony caught him and sighed again, “it all began when I started to become careless.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Tony landed on his patio and opened the armour to slip out of it. The genius was soaked in water and left wet footprints as he walked into the house. Damn this stupid snake.

“Jarvis?”

“Welcome home Sir, may I be of some assistance?”

Tony walked into his bedroom changing out of his clothes and getting into the shower, “yeah, once my armour is dried, please move it inside.”

“Very well Sir, do you like to know the status of Doctor Banner?” 

Tony soaped up his chest, “yeah sure how is he?” The AI responded almost instantly, “he is currently safely in the helicopter and his time of landing will be in about ninety minutes.”

The genius washed himself clean and nodded, “good did you inform SHIELD about the base?”

“I did and it appears that they are currently approaching it, Mr Fury did try to contact you again by the way. He is most insistent.”

Tony stepped out of the shower wrapping a towel around his head to dry his hair, “well and I am most insistent on ignoring him. Have you seen that man? He is creepy, he wears an eyepatch. That either means he is a pirate or some weird dude.”

“Or he has an eye condition.”

Tony rolled his eyes and dried off before getting dressed again. Peter would hopefully arrive soon and he had the fridge filled with fresh fish and crabs.

Maybe he could convince the boy to stay for the night, for old time’s sake or something like that. He took the wheelchair and went to the elevator that brought him down into the cove where his yacht was lying.

It was the best spot to pick up the merman without anyone noticing.

Soon enough the two boys arrived and Tony smiled at Peter ignoring the dark haired merman, “there you are, come hop in and I will show you my newly mad home.”

Peter smiled but hesitated as Loki placed a hand on his arm giving him a stern look. Tony could see how his friend hesitated. He had to intervene, “I stocked the fridge with your favourite fish, how about you and your friend stay and we celebrate your freedom?”

The boy focused on Tony again and smiled, “that sounds great but after that I have to go.” Tony nodded and smirked at the pouting prince, “of course now hop in, the pool was also remade.”

A little excited Peter climbed into the wheelchair and the genius pushed him towards the elevator, “I will come and get you in a minute Lokster.”

The prince huffed, “this is not my name peasant!” Tony made a gesture with his hand Loki didn’t know before they disappeared out of his field of vision.

He didn’t feel comfortable being this close to a human and he couldn’t keep himself from looking around nervously. Gladly nothing happened and the human returned shortly after he had left.

“Well here you go and why did you call me a peasant?”

Loki glared at him as he climbed into the chair, “because I am a prince you dense creature.” Tony let out a surprise sound at that, “a prince wow Peter didn’t tell me that he was friends with a royal.”

The prince pushed his still wet hair out of his face and huffed, “of course not it is forbidden after all.” The genius rolled his eyes and pushed the merman into the elevator; with a grin noted that he looked a little concerned all of a sudden. Good.

“It is also forbidden to by a shit ton of cocaine and fuck three hookers in two hours but hey your only young once.”

Loki exhaled as the doors opened again and looked over his shoulder to examine the human, “yes and the way you look it was a long time ago.” Tony hissed at him but he noticed that Peter was watching them from the pool so he let it slip and stayed silent.

A smug grin appeared on his face and even Peter looked pleased as the prince looked around with big eyes, taking in a human home for the first time of his life. Tony was almost about to make a comment but he referred from it.

It was Peter’s turn, “you like what you see?” Loki swallowed and looked at his friend, “I-I don’t have the words, what is all this?” The younger merman smiled, “if you want to know about everything you have to stay at least a few days, I stayed three days and still don’t know it all.”

The prince gracefully, Tony hated how gracefully, slipped into the pool and moved closer to his friend. The new pool was partly tiled in white tiles and partly more natural. At the natural part the floor was covered in sand were seaweed and other water plants grew.

The designer even placed a few real rocks there and in between a few tiny fish and clamps lived. Tony wanted to make it comfortable for Peter. He knew that the boy would not stay with him but maybe he would come to visit once in a while.

Loki sighed, “we have to go soon Peter, all of this is very fascinating but unlike May my family will wreak havoc if I don’t return home soon. You know how father is when he is upset.”

Peter looked down and nodded. His friend was right of course but honestly he wanted to spend a little more time with Tony, to say his goodbyes properly. Maybe even steal that kiss he was denied before.

The boy blushed and quickly focused on something else, “I like what you did to the pool, it is really nice now.” Tony beamed at that, “you like it, good because I did it just for you.” Now both blushed and Loki frowned looking from one to another.

“I mean I did it because you told me how bad it was before and I didn’t know if you were healthy of injured when I went to pick you up.”

Both acted like they believed what he just said and Loki almost groaned, this couldn’t be happening not for real. The prince took a deep breath and calmed down a little, “didn’t you say something about food human?”

Tony gave him a sour look, “I did but I fear I have nothing that is suited for a delicate mouth like yours.” Peter bit his lip to not laugh out loud, Loki meanwhile turned red and angry, “nothing about me is delicate human!”

The genius chuckled and winked at Peter, “sure thing Ariel.” Peter burst into laughter and Tony satisfied with that reaction got up and walked into the kitchen to get them their meal.

Placing the food on a platter he could hear the two mermen whisper to each other and he smirked as he heard Peter chuckle. It would do the princeling good to be shown that he doesn’t know everything.

Tony did get the feeling that Loki normally was a real smartass and rarely put in his place. The human walked outside again sitting down at the rim and handing the plate to Peter as he let his feet hang into the water.

The boy took the plate with a quiet thank you and showed it to Loki who made big eyes, “I have never seen fish this big and perfect, where did you catch them?”

Tony leaned back smirking at the prince, “humans breed fish and make sure they can safely grow and develop so we can have the biggest and nicest for food.” Peter took a crab and Tony winced as he broke the shell with his bare hands.

Loki placed the plate on the rim and ripped the tuna in half, “that is interesting, humans really evolved a lot. Is your kind less barbaric now?” Tony made a face and Peter snorted, “no, they are not.” With a sigh Tony nodded, “yes let me quote the awesome Tommy Lee Johnes, a person is smart, people are dumb.”

Loki chewed slowly on the fish and nodded, “sad then we will keep ourselves hidden.” Peter pulled some of the meat out of the crab leg, “as if your father would even consider coming out of hiding.”

The human felt a pang of jealousy seeing the two talk in such a familiar fashion and he couldn’t help but wonder, were those two really just friends?

Loki swallowed a large piece of fish and laughed, “no father would never consider, but one day Thor will be king and he can be argued with.” Peter smirked, “you mean to trick him right?”

They laughed and Tony clenched his fist, oh how he wished that this stupid prince would just grow a pair of legs and leave.


	9. Goodbye

The three stayed awake for almost all night watching movies and eating junk food. The prince had the same look of awe as Peter the first time he watched TV. It was enjoyable to watch but still Tony whished he was gone.

As the two couldn’t hide their yawns anymore they agreed to stay the remainder of the night in his pool so they could safely return next morning. Loki didn’t like it the least but he agreed that he was tired and a tired merman was in danger to get attacked by a predator.

Tony helped them back into the pool and watched as they curled up together on the sand, now he officially hated the prince. Fuming he walked back inside and threw himself on top of his own empty bed.

Honestly it was kind of silly to be jealous of the prince, Peter was a merman and Tony was a human, even if they could make it work, he was not so sure what _it_ was in the first place, he couldn’t possible keep the boy from his home. It would be cruel to do so.

Rather frustrated the genius hit his head repeatedly into his pillow huffing each time.

“Sir you seem to be distressed, may I be of some assistance?”

Tony lifted his head; of course, he was a genius was he not? There was a solution for every problem you only need to find it, “Jarvis oh yes, did you find something on the scans?”

“I fear not Sir, the sea is mostly unexplored and the cave system you are looking for appears to be well-hidden.”

Tony growled and flipped on his back, “alright, I want to make a few changes on the suit, no I want to make another one so get started on the calculations.”

“Very well Sir what did you have in mind?”

Tony jumped off his bed and walked downstairs into his workshop, “it needs to be capable of deep sea diving, meaning it needs to be resilient to high pressure; salt water and I need a constant supply of fresh air. I will stay underwater for a long time.”

“I will get to it immediately, also you will be happy to hear that Dr Banner had been safely arrived hours ago and was taken care of. Mrs Potts is in charge of him.”

Tony smiled as he looked through a few boxes with either abandoned projects or things he deemed useless, “good to hear, now where did I put it?” He pulled the entire tech out of the boxes until he found the small black case he was looking for.

“Oh yes,” he exclaimed opening the case and smiling at his invention. This would work he was sure of it.

“Sir I do need to inform you if you use this on Master Parker you will most likely lose his trust.”

Tony stopped for a moment but then he shook his head, his plan may hurt the boy but they would work through that, he was sure.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The moment the sun rose, Peter awoke and sighed feeling utterly content. Mermen were used to the life underwater and the coldness that was part of it, but they did like the warmth too.

So normally family members who lived in a cave together huddled together to share what little warmth their bodies offered to each other. It was something every merman enjoyed.

Currently Peter was spooned by Loki, his long pale arms wrapped around his torso and their tails entwined. Under normal circumstances this would never been possible and Peter would probably be locked up by Odin if he ever found out but he couldn’t care at the moment.

The sun was rising and Peter managed to untangle himself from his friend and rise to the surface. The boy climbed out of the pool and into the wheelchair. Easily enough he rolled into the bathroom noticing that it was now a lot easier to get through the doors.

When he emerged again Tony was already in the kitchen and smiled at the boy, “morning Pete how did you sleep?” The merman rolled up to the kitchen counter and pulled himself up onto a stool, “good, I really like the new pool. In fact I like your new place everything looks great.”

Tony smiled and put a bowl of fruit into Peter’s hands, “I would like to show you around but I guess you want to go soon again don’t you?” The boy looked down on the bowl looking a little guilty, “I…well Loki will want to leave and I do miss my aunt dearly.”

The human patted his shoulder, “it is alright, I knew from the beginning that I couldn’t keep you here forever it is just…I wished we’ve had more time.” Peter glanced at the pool as he popped a grape in his mouth, “well Loki is still asleep and you better not wake him. His majesty doesn’t like it.”

Tony chuckled and went behind the merman, “very well then I shall show you around quickly, the new bathroom was also to your liking?” Peter smiled as he was pushed through the house, “oh yes it looked really nice.”

 

Tony showed Peter around and the boy was fascinated by almost everything, he was like a little child. The merman sat on one of the beds in the guest rooms.

“And you sleep on those?”

The human smiled and watched him, “yes we take the blanked and cover us so we stay warm and comfortable and we put our heads on those pillows.” Peter picked one up touching it fascinated like he had never seen something so amazing. It was almost too cute.

“I wish I could sleep in one of those beds, it feels really nice, we mostly sleep on the ground on top of some seaweed. The royals can afford to grow sponges large enough to sleep on.”

Tony knitted his eyebrows together, sponges? Well that could work in a way, he guessed. He sat down next to Peter, “sounds really uncomfortable to me, would you like to lie down for a moment?”

The merman blushed but nodded and Tony helped him getting under the covers, “hm if your tail wouldn’t stick out on the other end you would almost look like a human.” Peter snorted at that, “could you imagine that? Me? Human?”

He laughed and for some reason Tony felt an ache in his chest. Oh how he wished the boy was human. Peter stopped and looked up to Tony his hands caressing the soft fabric of the covers, “this is so nice I wish I had one down in my cave.”

Tony went to lie next to him propping his head up on one arm to look down on him with a smile, “I would say take it with you but that would look weird, wouldn’t it?” Peter laughed and nodded, “completely weird.”

They looked at each other for a moment and Tony moved his free hand to put it on top of the blanked that covered Peter’s naked chest, “you know there is still that issue that I haven’t kissed you yet.”

The silence in the room was almost deafening and Tony feared that he had overstepped some boundaries but to his surprise it was Peter who grabbed the back of his head to pull him into a kiss.

It was funny somehow Tony had thought that Peter would taste like fish, but he didn’t he tasted rather human but that was a good thing. Tony moved his hand to Peter’s cheek and deepened their kiss by pushing his tongue into the boy’s mouth.

Peter let out a sound of surprise but he didn’t pull away or worse bit his tongue, it was quite the opposite. He moved his tongue to meet his and so they danced with each other in a hot and quite wet dance.

Tony groaned and broke the kiss as he felt arousal rise inside of him. Was it wrong for him to want this boy so much? He was technically a minor and they were not even the same species let alone that they barely knew each other.

“I-I think I should look if Loki is awake, he surely will be hungry,” Peter said gasping for air. He saw the weird expression in Tony’s face and something inside of him stirred. It was strange, he of course had been aroused before it was a sign of fertility and becoming an adult but in their kind didn’t mate for pleasure it was frowned upon.

The fact that Tony was also a male and they couldn’t produce an offspring didn’t make it less confusing. He shouldn’t feel this, never; it was wrong, so wrong on so many levels. Loki would kill him if he knew.

Quickly he pushed the covers away and climbed back into the wheelchair while Tony stood and walked over to the door not daring to meet his gaze. The genius was glad that he had no idea how he would make this work between them or he would have probably kept going and ravished the boy right there.

They went back into the living room and as they looked outside they were greeted by a fuming Loki. The merman had his arms resting on the rim of the pool and his pale skin glistered in the sunlight as he glared at both of them.

With a guilty expression Peter rolled outside and Tony sighed internally before he followed. Loki shot Tony a poisonous glare before he focused on Peter, “where have you gone?” The boy opened his mouth to answer but Tony cut him off before he could speak, “relax princeling we just took a tour through the house.”

Loki now looked at Tony and the man almost winced at that look, damn that green eyed cockblock was really furious. The human swallowed as the prince bared his teeth, “just a tour huh, well human you had your fun but we will leave, now! I will accept no further delay.”

Peter looked down on his hands and nodded, “I think he is right we should leave.” Tony and he shared a look, “I’m sorry.” The human just nodded and Peter rolled over to the elevator waited for Tony to follow.

With a sigh Tony walked over and got down to the cove with Peter, “I am sorry because of Loki but he is just worried. Please don’t take it personal.” Tony let out a laugh as Peter slipped into the water, “not at all I understand.” Oh he was taking this completely personal.

Peter smiled and Tony went upstairs again, “you know little princess, you are one hell of a pain in the ass.” Loki sat on the rim of the pool his arms crossed in front of his chest, “and you are a filthy peasant.”

The human crossed his arms in front of his chest as he watched the prince. The merman looked at him the same way Tony looked when he was…could it be? Tony tilted his head, “gods you are jealous, aren’t you?” The prince blushed confirming his suspicion, “oh my god you have a crush on Peter!”

Loki bit his lip looking down on his hands, “if you say something to him I swear I will call my snake to destroy your house.” Tony threw his head back and laughed, “yeah threaten me all you want princeling but I tell you something, I have your fishy balls in my hand, wait does your kind have balls?”

Loki looked so confused that Tony didn’t need an answer to that, “well so if you want to keep your dirty little secret you will hop into this wheelchair, let me bring you downstairs and you will tell Peter that it is okay if he drops by once in a while.”

It was almost too funny to watch the merman think and curse in his mind, Tony knew he did. In the end Loki just nodded and climbed into the wheelchair and let Tony push him into the elevator.

“You know I think we could be friends if you were not so stuck up all the time.”

Loki scoffed, “and if you hadn’t caught Peter we would still be a secret and living in safety.” Tony hummed, “maybe but I doubt that, sooner or later your kind will be found, the world is getting smaller and smaller Loki, you cannot hide forever.”

The prince let his shoulders slump a little and Tony felt a pang of regret but as soon as the doors opened Loki sat upright again, “our kind is older than humanity will ever be, I am certain we will find a way to survive you.”

The genius rolled the prince into Peter’s direction, “I hope you are right because the key to survival is to evolve and to adapt to change. That is how humanity survived all this time.” Peter watched their exchange with some curiosity but didn’t get involved into the conversation.

Loki slipped into the water with more grace that Tony would ever possess and the mermen exchanged a look. Peter frowned slightly; he noticed that something had happened between them.

The human cleared his throat, “well you two I guess this is goodbye.” Loki swallowed watching Tony warily before turning to Peter, “yeah but I guess it is…okay if you drop in once in a while.” The boy’s eyes widened, “just don’t do it too often.”

Peter let out an excited sound and hugged his friend and Tony nearly growled at that but he managed to keep his mouth shut. Loki hugged him back but let go quick enough, “alright but now let’s go we still need to come up with a story to tell everyone.”

The boy nodded and looked at Tony again, “bye I promise I will visit.” Tony smiled and raised his hand, “yes see you kid.” With that the two mermen dived down and disappeared into the depths of the sea.

Tony sighed and put his hands in his pockets as he walked back to the elevator, “Jarvis activate the tracking device and keep a lock on Peter, I want to know where he is going.”

“Very well Sir, anything else?”

The genius closed his eyes as the doors slid shut, “those Hydra files, you made a copy didn’t you?”

“Of course Sir everything is inside your database.”

Tony smiled trying to banish his guilt out of his mind and walked straight into his workshop sitting down in his chair as the monitors came to life. He pulled up all the schematics Hydra had made about Peter, the x-rays and the detailed data about his DNA.

Tony was not well-versed in biotech or anything even close to that matter but he was a genius and genetic engineering as also just engineering in the end. He was determent to find a way to be with Peter even if he had to go against nature to do so.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Loki glanced at his friend as they dived deeper and deeper, following the familiar currents that would guide them to their home. Of course Peter noticed, “just ask dammit.” The prince sighed and stopped, Peter followed suit.

“I…we need to get up with a story to tell your aunt and everyone else who asks.”

Peter of course knew that was not was Loki had wanted to say but he would go along with it. Sooner or later his friend would talk to him, “how about I was locked in a cave?” The prince thought about that as he looked around, “yeah that could work, you were locked inside after a land slide and couldn’t come out.”

Peter nodded smiling brightly, “oh yes, but how did I survive? I need to eat.” They both thought for a moment before Loki shrugged, “you were lucky and able to catch whatever swam past the cave.” They both thought this adequate enough and continued on their way home.

Loki took a deep breath before they entered the cave system and stopped again looking at Peter, “I am glad that you are back Parker.” Peter smiled, “and I am grateful you came looking for me, my prince.”

They smiled to each other and looked around to make sure no one spotted the small entrance to their home before they slipped one after another through the narrow passage between the rocks. One reason why Peter’s friend Ned rarely used this entrance was because he barely fit through.

The guards spotted Loki at first and recognized him immediately by his green tail and the golden fins that marked him as royalty. Gladly they bowed and didn’t even glance at Peter as they swam past them.

The closer they get to May’s and Peter’s cave, the faster Peter swam. Loki had no trouble keeping up but he let himself fall back to not be in Peter’s way as he entered his home.

“May! I am back!”

The mermaid shot out from their sleeping chamber and Peter was immediately caught in her tight hug. Loki slid into the cave behind him letting the curtain fall so they would have some privacy.

“Gods Peter I was so worried. Where were you!”

The boy flinched and Loki was glad that he was not the victim of May’s wrath. Peter looked at her with guilt in his eyes, “I-I was caught inside of a cave, there was a landslide.” The young merman had never prided himself to be a good liar and under normal circumstances May would have probably seen through him but being as emotional as she was, she didn’t.

Loki exhaled, “yes I found him only through pure luck.” May let go of her nephew to look at the second prince, “you found him, you said you would but I didn’t believed it. I am so sorry for doubting you my prince.” The mermaid swam towards him and bowed down deeply touching the ground in front of Loki to show how thankful she was.

The prince managed a smile but he did look uncomfortable by it, “ah like you said I promised I would find, but now I need to go and apologize to my mother for missing breakfast.” May shot up thanked him again before wrapping her arms once again around her beloved nephew, the two mermen exchanged a look and a nod before Loki took off.

May let go once again and looked him over again and again checking him for injuries and was pleased to find none. Gladly the wound he had taken from Tony had healed without leaving a noticeable scar and Bruce had made sure that the scientists would treat him well and not hurt him unnecessarily.

“Now you will promise me to never explore caves again without telling anybody,” May said pushing the boy down to sit on a rock. Peter smiled and nodded but his aunt was not finished.

“And you will never again venture to the surface.”

Peter’s jaw dropped, “what how? I never went…”

The mermaid crossed her arms in front of her chest raising an eyebrow, “Peter please, do you think me stupid and blind? I saw the little things you collected and the look of awe in your eyes whenever you came back from a trip you didn’t want to tell me about. Peter you may be the smartest kid I know but I am not dense.”

Peter looked sheepishly at his hands, “I never intended to worry you. So I never told you.” His aunt nodded squeezing his hand, “oh Peter I always knew you would be drawn to the surface, your father was the same. He would always go and watch the land creatures and would tell your mother and me about it.”

Her voice was full of sadness and longing and Peter felt his heart hurt. Sometimes he wondered if she was lonely, if he failed as a nephew, failed in making her happy. It was his duty to be there for her, wasn’t it?

Suddenly he felt guilty for choosing to stay with Tony, for wanting to go back to him and spending time with the human. Tony was not part of their world and Peter should not try to force something that was never going to work out.

He moved closer to his aunt wrapping his arms around her, “I am sorry for leaving it wasn’t my intention and I promise to never get in such a situation again.” May rubbed his cheek with a gentle smile, “I know but now I will make you some lunch you must be starving for some proper food.”

A huge grin broke out on Peter’s face and he nodded, some proper merfood would do him some good, he was sure he would miss pizza though.

May rushed around the kitchen pulling out clams and crabs that they kept in a stone bowl and prepared them so they could be easily eaten. Peter watched with a fond smile his hand following the lines that were carved into the stone he was sitting on. Ben had marked all of his works.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki swam back home ignoring his people as they spotted him and whispered words he refused to pay attention to. The people got easily excited if a royal ventured so far off the grand cave.

“My prince!”

Loki grimaced as he heard the call but stopped, “Sif what unpleasantness brings you into my company?” The mermaid stopped in front of him ignoring his words as usual, “your mother the queen requests your presence, immediately.”

She emphasised the last word and Loki knew that if he refused she would drag him to his mother. That woman was surprisingly strong and stubborn. Even after all this time she still tried to get Thor to notice her.

His big brutish brother was too stupid to notice though, he only saw her as his favourite sparring partner. It was hilarious to watch.

With a sigh Loki waved his hand, “lead the way.”

The warrior led him into Frigga’s garden at least that was what she called it. It was a larger cave that was exclusively for the royal family. The ground was covered in white sand and not a stray rock or pebble was to be seen.

The walls of the cave were covered in carvings of the major events in their history. The coronation of Bor, their first king, who claimed the caves for their people, the birth of Odin and how he defeated the Jotuns a race of merpeople that tried to take over their caves.

Loki let his eyes stray further until he spotted the carving of Thor’s and finally his birth both pictures showed Frigga with the infants in her arms. He always admired the craftsmanship of those carvings and wondered how Thor’s coronation would be portrayed.

“My son!”

The prince spotted his mother who sat in the middle of the cave on a rock and at a table. The polished piece of stone was circular and three other rocks were placed around it so the rest of the family could join if they wanted. They rarely did though.

Thor was mostly off to his adventures and Loki and Odin had never been as close as he and Frigga. The prince swam over to his mother careful not to disturb the carefully groomed sand and sat down in his usual place.

“Mother?”

Frigga chuckled and pushed a small bowl into his direction, it contained a few sea urchins that were hard to eat but delicious. Loki smiled, “thank you mother, what do you want to talk about?”

The queen tilted her head, her golden hair slowly floating to one side, “am I not allowed to spoil my son?” Loki took one of the spikey creatures and carefully broke the shell to get to the tender meat hiding inside, “I guess you are but I doubt you would sent Sif to get me for that.”

The mermaid chuckled and sighed theatrically, “ah I guess you are right, actually I wanted to ask if you finally found your little friend.” Loki chewed and eyed her warily, “who?”

Magic was said to be a gift that once every mermaid and merman possessed. Over the generations however this wisdom had been lost and only little magic was known throughout the vast sea and Loki was sure that his mother was the only mermaid still capable to curse someone.

He was pretty sure his mother possessed magic and used it to shape fate after her own taste. It was quite intimidating.

“You know who I am talking about, I talked to his aunt but I never had the pleasure to meet your friend personally, Peter is his name, isn’t it.”

Loki swallowed and weighted his options; well he didn’t really have options considering that lying to his mother never ended well for him. The prince picked up another sea urchin, “yes his name is Peter, since when did you know?”

Frigga smiled softly at him, “ever since you got that certain gleam in your eyes whenever you went off without telling anyone where you go; besides Thor told me that you made a friend.” Loki cursed internally; he would make his brother pay for spoiling his secrets.

The prince sighed, “where is my oaf of a brother anyway?” Frigga’s smile got a little strained, “he…he is…well we think he got captured as he tried to sneak into Jotunheim.” Loki dropped his food to gape at his mother, this was really bad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well of course Thor gets in trouble if Loki is not around  
> but will Peter explore is feelings like a proper teen?  
> Find out next chapter ^^


	10. Under the sea

Days went by much slower than Tony was used to; even though he buried himself in work the hours just didn’t seem to pass. The genius found himself checking the camera footage of the cove every five to ten minutes in case Peter dropped by even though he was fully aware that it could take the boy weeks until he was able to come and visit.

Tony made his new suit and checked the map a few times memorizing where Peter went. The boy actually didn’t go far, a few miles from the shore and then deeper and deeper. Tony never knew that the ocean was so deep out there but now he knew.

The genius did feel a little guilty that he tricked the boy though. At the morning before they departed Tony had smuggled a tiny GPS sender into Peter’s food and the boy had swallowed it. Gladly the device was designed to send from a stomach and even if it hadn’t worked all the way Tony would have at least gotten a pretty good idea where the boy lived.

“Sir Mr Fury is here to see you.”

Tony frowned and looked up from his work, “what do you mean he is here?” The AI pulled up the visual from the camera at the front door, “he is currently standing at the entrance, demanding to be let in and I am certain that he has a gun.”

The genius huffed at that and rose from his seat, “well then let’s see what he wants, if he does something weird call the police and Pepper.”

“Of course Sir.”

Tony walked through the glass doors and upstairs only to see that the man had already let himself inside. How rude.

“Mr Stark, finally we meet again,” the man greeted but there was neither joy nor friendliness in his voice. Tony raised an eyebrow, “did it ever occur to you that I don’t want to meet you again? And by the way how did you get inside?” Fury’s one eye narrowed, “I am here to talk about your guest.”

Tony stiffed at that, “Dr Banner?” The man in front of him slowly tilted his head. Tony could see how pissed he was but he managed to keep his face mostly emotionless.

“No not him, you know who I am talking about, the one Hydra captured, you saved and then erased all data about. We are not stupid Stark and we have been watching you for a long time and we want to know what you found.”

Tony walked up to his bar and poured himself a drink, “and why should I share anything with you?” Fury followed and sat down on a stool snatching the glass out of Tony’s hand as he intended to take a sip.

“Because we are here to keep our people safe and comfortable and we cannot do that if we have to fear that something is lurking underwater for them. We know you found a mermaid Stark, so you tell me, is this a threat to humanity?”

Tony glared at the man. No one besides Pepper had the nerve to steal his drink, hell he had ruined people for that, “no,” he said angrily snatching his drink back.

“They want to be left alone and have a strict no talking to humans policy so don’t worry about them.”

The dark skinned man rubbed his chin thinking about that, “how would you feel if I offer you a job?”

That caused something that had only been told in myths; Tony Stark was at a loss of words. The genius was unsure if he should feel insulted, amused or intrigued. He settled for insulted.

“Do I look like I need a job offer from some shady organization? Well let me answer that for you, no, I don’t so now leave my house or I will make you.”

Fury seemed like he was considering shooting him but the man was more diplomatic than Tony would ever be so he didn’t. He let out a breath and walked up to Tony, “you talked to them Stark, to a species only known from fiction and only you can tell me if they are a threat and I have to trust your judgment so please help me here.”

Tony crossed his arms in front of his chest, “out, now!” The man’s eye twitched in anger and he sighed as he walked away, “very well gladly you are not the only person who was in contact with the fishman.”

The genius watched him go and once heard the door shut close he exhaled, “Jarvis, try to keep an eye on that one and call Pepper she needs to warn Bruce. He is not allowed to talk about Peter.”

“Of course Sir, by the way the updates are installed and ready for use.”

That for once were good news and Tony smiled as he walked down into the workshop to take a look at his work. The deep sea suit was almost ready and he just itched to take it for a ride, well swim.

The genius looked at the charts on his monitor and smiled then he looked at the new suit and grinned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If Loki had legs, he would pace right know. Peter had seen that from Tony and Pepper and he could almost imagine how the prince would look like with two long pale legs walking around.

“I mean can you believe it, that oaf went to Jotunheim,” Loki said his tail twitching nervously. Peter sat on the floor of the archives and watched his friend.

“Why did he go there?”

The prince rubbed his eyes and sat down next to Peter, “I don’t know he asked me to come along but I refused, gods if I had just talked him out of it.” Peter watched as Loki removed the hands from his eyes and was surprised how guilty and scared he looked.

“Why didn’t you?” Peter asked with apprehension and the prince slightly tensed at that question. Green eyes glanced at him and Peter frowned, but in the end Loki answered.

“I was about to search for you, he caught me just before I went off to find Jor and I was so worried about you that I just shot him down and didn’t listen.”

Peter put an arm around his friend who just pulled his tail up to his chest, hugging it tightly. He completely missed how Loki tensed up for a moment before he eased into the touch.

“Do you think we could sneak in and safe him?”

Loki’s eyes widened and he looked at Peter, “what? No! I just got you back and I will not endanger you like that!” Peter blinked at him and even Loki seemed surprised at his reaction. Both boys looked away slightly embarrassed and confused.

“I am sorry I-I didn’t want to yell at you, please forgive me,” Loki finally said resting his forehead on his tail. Peter rubbed his shoulder with a soft smile, “there is nothing to forgive, he is your brother and you have every right to be worried but I am just a friend.”

Loki let his gills flare at that, “you are not just a friend Peter, you are my only friend and I don’t want to lose you, not again.” The last words were a mere whisper and once again Peter felt this weird warm feeling inside his stomach.

Maybe he was getting sick, maybe he should ask May what it was. First he had this feeling being with Tony and now with Loki? It was so weird.

The prince slowly shifted, leaning against his friend and enjoying the touch. Normally it would be absolutely inappropriate for two mermen to be this close while not being related but as always the archives were deserted and they were the only ones around.

Merfolk tended to not write down their history, it may be to the fact that they had to carve it into stone to preserve it so tales and facts were mostly told from parent to child. The same was for school, Peter’s teachers, in Loki’s case it was a private tutor, only knew what they have been told by their teachers and since both boys were naturally curious they always wanted to know more.

That way they first met here in the archives, between shelves of stone sheets where words and pictures were carved in to preserve at least something of their history. Now they were in the cave to hopefully find out something about the Jotuns.

They only found one sheet and it had scarcely any information on it. Peter looked at the plate that lay in front of them on the ground as he absently rubbed his friends shoulder.

“If what it says is true,” Peter absently began, “then they will not give Thor back easily, our people may be warriors but the Jotuns are hunters.” Loki nodded, enjoying the close contact with his friend.

“I know and honestly it doesn’t look good for my idiotic brother, well at least he is still alive.”

Peter nodded, “what does Odin want to do about it?” Loki sighed ignoring the urge to press his nose against Peter’s slightly warm skin.

“He will meet with Laufey and discuss my brother’s return with him, but he doesn’t want me to be present at that meeting. He refused to explain to me why though.”

Peter hummed, “I guess he is just scared that he will lose another son.” Loki sighed, “yeah probably.”

They sat together for a little longer until Peter decided to leave and since they didn’t wanted to be seen together Loki left a few minutes after him.

If the two boys had picked up the sheet one more time they maybe would have noticed that on the backside was explained that the Jotun were some of the most passionate merfolk there were and they not only mated for reproduction but also for pleasure. 

Which would have proven valuable information in the future.

 

Peter was on his way back home rounding a corner when he faced the queen. The golden haired mermaid was the most beautiful woman under the sea and Peter was gaping at her as she swam in front of him flanked by two guards.

“Oh my you must be Peter, am I right?”

The boy blinked and quickly bowed, “forgive me my queen,” he said reaching out to touch the ground in front of her but a flick of her tail stopped him.

“Oh please don’t do that your aunt insisted on those old and stupid traditions, too. I don’t like that at all.”

Peter straightened and nodded shyly. Suddenly Loki rounded the same corner he did just a minute ago and stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted them.

“Ah and there is my lovely son, how do you fare today?”

Loki swam up to them a wary expression on his face, “I fare well mother.” Peter blinked at him and quickly bowed, “my prince.” Loki raised an eyebrow before he remembered and nodded.

“Oh my how cute, well would you leave us alone?”

The boys watched as the two guards hesitated but eventually obeyed and left so the three had some more privacy. Peter was a little confused and at a loss of words so he was completely caught off guard as the queen swam forwards and hooked her arm into his, “please join me and my son in my private cave. I long since wanted to meet you and now that I have the pleasure we will talk.”

Peter stared with wide eyes at Loki who just shrugged helplessly and followed behind.

Frigga led them into her private cave. No one had access to it and even Odin had to ask permission to enter it. Peter felt like he had no right being there and if it wasn’t the queen at his side leading him in he would have probably turned and swam as far away as possible.

Once inside Frigga let go of Peter and sat down on rock that was almost shaped like a couch and covered by some spongey plant. The two boys took a seat in front of Frigga and Peter ran a hand over the weird plant. It was not as soft and comfortable as Tony’s furniture but it was a lot better than what he was used to.

Frigga chuckled as she watched the boys, the one curious and the other tense and wary. They made a good couple. The queen tilted her head and a wave of golden hair danced in the water, “so Peter, I had the honour of meeting your aunt a while ago.”

The boy blushed and looked down on his hands, “ah yes well I hope she didn’t bother you too much.” The queen wrinkled her nose in amusement, “oh no not at all and I can understand when a woman becomes protective of her little guppies.”

Loki blushed as she looked at him but the prince didn’t retort he simply looked at his fin that lazily moved in the slow current. Peter glanced at Loki with a small smile before looking at the queen, “but I am just her nephew and not her son.”

The mermaid chuckled and the golden fabric that covered her seemed to jingle a little as it moved, “but that doesn’t make a difference little one. My sister took in the son of her handmaiden as she died unexpectedly and she raised him as her son. He is her kin now.”

Peter frowned but nodded, he would never dare to disagree with the queen. Frigga smiled and watched the young merman with growing interest. Being raised as a Vanir and not Asgardian Frigga had never understood many things her husband and his people did. Of course as the queen she had to accept and even enforce some of the rules and old traditions but she had never liked to do so.

The queen had always hoped to change the hearts and minds of her people because she always knew that it would be their downfall if they didn’t change their ways anytime soon. She was pulled out of her thoughts as Peter cleared his throat.

“Uhm if you don’t mind me asking, is there word of Prince Thor, yet?”

The queen studied him for a moment, “are you and my son…” The young merman blushed, “n-no I don’t know the prince, I am just concerned about the heir, as everyone is.”

The queen slowly nodded, “as everyone is. No I am afraid there is no word from him, yet.” She sighed and the boy looked away again looking rather uncomfortable.

Frigga had always known that Thor would one day take the throne but she had never intended for him to rule, she always knew that her second son with all his smarts and curiosity would be the true and better leader of their people. Maybe with Peter he could be the one to truly bring change along the way.

One thing that was also frowned upon by their people was the mating of two merpersons of the same sex. They only mated when they had a reason and it was never for pleasure so the mating of two men would be considered useless on many levels.

“Mother I believe that Peter has to leave, his aunt will surely be worried if he stays out too long,” the prince turned to look at Peter, “won’t she?”

The boy blinked and shot up, “ah yes she gets kind of nervous nowadays.” The queen waved her hand, “oh I will explain it to her if she asks so don’t worry, sit down.” The last part was an order and Peter didn’t dare to refuse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Of course May was angry with Peter because he disappeared for so long but once he explained to her that it had basically been the queen’s fault she calmed a little.

The mermaid prepared a meal and Peter sat on the table waiting.

“I cannot believe you met the queen she is great isn’t she?”

Peter forced a smile, she was rather intimidating and scary but he couldn’t say that to his aunt, “yes…she is.” May kept on talking and telling him about her meeting with Frigga, “honestly I never expected to hear from her again, I mean she is _the_ queen and we are just…we, but seeing that she sought you out gives me real hope. Maybe if she and the king approves of your friendship with the prince, maybe we could rise in status.”

Peter didn’t like how excited May sounded about that but he couldn’t be angry about it. It was indeed a great chance for her and he had no right to deny it to her. It was about time that something good happened to May.

They ate mostly in silence while Peter’s mind wandered, first he thought about Tony, all alone inside his huge cave, no house it is called a house and then to Loki. He may have tried to hide it from Peter but he could see how worried he was over his brother and he was determent to help him. It was his duty as a friend.

After Frigga’s interrogation Peter had stayed away from the royal cave and had even avoided the guards since he kind of feared that they would drag him to the queen if they spotted him. It was a silly thought because if she wanted to see him she could just order him to come by sending someone to his home.

It was still a nice game to him. Peter had always liked to be sneaky and silent and so it was no surprise he actually didn’t mind his situation so much. After three days Loki once again sought him out.

Peter was sitting with Ned in his cave playing the merfolk version of chess as a guard entered after a quick nod. The two boys looked up equally confused.

“Peter Parker, the second prince summons you to the royal archives!”

The boy blinked and looked at Ned who gaped at him, “the prince? You know the prince that is awesome.” Peter flushed and got up his tail flicking nervously, “I don’t really know him just met him a few times in the archives.”

Ned nodded looking a little disappointed, “oh alright stay safe.” Peter gave him a smile and followed the guard to the royal caves. If Loki sent a guard to get him he was either unable to find him or the matter was dire, both scenarios were not really good.

The guard left as soon as Peter swam inside the archives and he immediately spotted the prince. Loki was pulling out sheets and putting them back in the shelf just to occupy his hands, now Peter became even more worried.

“Loki, what is wrong?”

The prince spun around and with a quick flip of his tail he was in front of Peter.

“My father, the meeting it is tomorrow and he still refused to let me join.”

Peter shrugged, “yeah well we already knew that, so where is the problem?” Loki ran a hand through his hair but for once his hair was braided and adorned with glistering stones and seashells so his long fingers got tangled up in it.

With a hiss he pulled his fingers free, “I have a bad feeling about this meeting, we need to go there.” Peter let out a chuckle more out of disbelieve than because he thought it was funny, “yeah right we are going to spy on your father, the king and his royal party.”

Loki raised an eyebrow at him, Peter cursed, “Loki no! We are going to be in so much trouble!” The prince sighed and swam closer, “Peter we need to do this, maybe we will be able to find out where Thor is and can free him. Please you need to help me!”

Peter fought the urge to move backwards, “what happened to you don’t want to endanger me and all of that.” The prince looked down sheepishly, “I…there is no one else I could ask,” Loki whispered and Peter kind of felt bad for him.

Loki grabbed his hands and with a pleading look squeezed them, “I will not put you in danger I promise, but I need you for this, please Peter, we can do this.”

The younger merman sighed, “alright I will help you but you need to promise me that you will also not put yourself in danger.” The prince hesitated but in the end he shook Peter’s hand, “alright tomorrow we will find my brother.”

Peter sighed, “or we will find a shit ton of trouble.”

Tony would have been proud by his choice of words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Tony needs time to finish his suit he doesn't do much this chapter   
> hope you dont mind   
> Give me your predictions and oppinions.   
> Thanks for reading


	11. The Jotuns

The morning the royals wanted to meet Loki and Peter were completely nervous and restless. The party would leave so soon and they had to prepare. Since both boys had tails that were not quite inconspicuous they had to take precautions.

Loki had managed to get them blankets from woven seaweed. They were large and in an ugly shade of brown, but they would blend in just fine with their surroundings. Once the dim light from the surface hit them they covered their tails with the blankets. It looked rather weird but would help them to keep a low profile.

Peter was still unsure if that was a good idea but it was too late to go back on his word now. Together they snuck out of the caves and into the open water, “where is your father going to meet Laufey?”

Loki took the lead and Peter followed closely behind. His senses were on high alert and he seemed to notice every crab or tiny fish floating through the water. The prince on the other hand seemed to only be focused on his way.

“They want to meet at the old ship.”

Peter sighed the old ship was a relic of the humans that littered the ocean floor and was said to be haunted. Of course the boy didn’t believe in ghosts and such things but it didn’t hurt to be careful.

The boys reached the old warship that seemed like a hollowed out monstrosity that was covered in clams, and even a few corals. It had been so long on the ocean floor, that it was now part of it and home to many creatures that lived deep in the down in the sea.

Loki spotted his father’s party as they entered and looked around to find a better way inside. Peter stopped and thought for a moment spotting the guards that were stationed around the old ship. The Aesir and the Jotuns were separated but watched each other with wary expressions.

Peter spotted an opening and pulled the prince along. Hidden behind rocks the slowly and carefully swam into the belly of the beast. They entered from the far side of the ship and swam through the abandoned hallways scaring a few fish and a squid that were not expecting them.

The prince followed Peter’s lead without complain and they found a hiding spot inside an old room that had a few holes in the floor. The two friends lay down to look at the two kings below them.

The Jotuns were not unlike the Aesir in general but there were a few differences. For example they were taller and broader than most other mermen and their tails were mostly blue, grey or blue-grey. They were not nearly as colourful as the Aesir could be but that was also an advantage. Besides that they didn’t seem to have any hair, neither on their head nor on the rest of their body.

King Laufey was one of the biggest and broadest among his men and he wore a crown made out of what looked like shark teeth and obsidian. That man had definitely a dramatic streak.

Odin tall and broad but old and a little tired looking swam before his enemy with his golden spear Gungnir and his crown of gold. The two mermen were quite different and it was really weird to look at.

Peter bit his lip as their voices sounded through the hollow ship.

“Odin, you look weary,” Laufey’s voice was ice cold and it sent a shiver down Peter’s spine to hear him talk. Odin sighed, “Laufey, old friend and enemy, where is my son?”

The Jotun king laughed, “I could ask you the same.” The boys exchanged a look and Loki shrugged, there were no Jotuns in their caves.

Odin growled, “he is not your son, he was never supposed to, I raised him and you have no claim to him.” Peter blinked and looked at Loki who had his eyebrows knitted together. Suddenly the young merman really got the feeling that they shouldn’t have come here.

Peter put a hand on Loki’s arm but the prince didn’t seem to notice, he was just staring at the two kings. The younger bit his lip and focused on the conversation below again.

Laufey laughed, “he is my kin I do have a claim and you know it.” Odin growled and grabbed his spear tighter, the normally so calm king now seemed to be just about to attack the other merman.

“You stole the egg and left the boy to die and now that you see what he had grown up to be you want to reclaim him. You are not his father Laufey, you have no love for my son, you only feel greed.”

Peter wondered just how he managed to get pulled into a weird royal family drama while all he wanted to do was to learn about the weird surface dwellers. Suddenly he missed Tony. Things were just so…easy with him, less confusing and that even though he didn’t understand half of what the human said all day long.

Next to him Loki shifted and Peter’s eyes widened as he saw what he was about to do. Quickly he wrapped his arms around the boy, “no what are you doing? We cannot be seen.” He hissed quietly but Loki didn’t seem to hear him.

“Loki, stop,” but it was too late. The prince freed himself from Peter’s grip and swam through the hole ripping the blanket off his tail in the progress. Peter watched as both kings looked up with wide eyes as the second prince swam down to them. He also saw their eyes briefly flicker over him and he knew he was in so much trouble.

Odin stared at his son and Laufey smirked. Loki didn’t take a side and stood out of reach of both mermen. His hands trembled as he clenched them into fists, “explain yourself old man!”

The King glanced at his son while Laufey crossed his arms in front of his chest, “huh he is smaller than I imagined.” Loki hissed at him, “I am not talking to you!” The prince looked at Odin who suddenly looked even more tired than before, “Loki son I-.”

“He is not your son,” Laufey cut in, “he is mine.” Peter could see the shiver that went down Loki’s spine at those words. Still he didn’t dare to look at Laufey; maybe he still hoped that all of this was just a bad joke.

Odin drew a deep breath, “Loki you are…not of my seed but you are Frigga’s son.” The King glared at Laufey, “this one here stole one of her eggs and fertilized it, once you hatched however he discarded you, thinking you too small and weak.”

Loki swallowed and glanced at the Jotun King, the merman seemed completely unfazed by his enemy’s words and he didn’t deny them. He just shrugged, “sure I did, he was pale as death and couldn’t even properly swim no one is more surprised than me that he is still alive.”

Loki trembled again but Odin continued his tale before he could hurl some insults at Laufey, “your mother knew that you were alive somewhere, a mother knows such things I guess and she went to find you. I followed to protect her and we found you. Just a little guppy all alone and about to be devoured by predators.”

Odin reached out to his son, a hopeful expression in his one eye, “please Loki, you are my son because you are nothing like this man, you are strong, brave and smart, a true son of Asgard and a true son of Odin.”

Peter sniffed, he had tears in his eyes and if he weren’t sure that they were about to be killed by the Jotuns, he would have swam down hugged the prince and told him to forgive Odin. The old merman really loved him.

The prince hadn’t said a word nor shown any reaction to Odin’s speech. He just floated in the water his hands still clenched to fists. Finally he turned to look at Laufey, “is this true?”

The Jotun shrugged again, “well yes, I stole the egg, fertilized it and I threw you out after my queen showed me how weak you were. Jotuns don’t raise weaklings, they are burdens we cannot afford, but now you are a great man Loki. You are everything your father said and more. I want you to come with me and take your place among my people.”

Loki stared at his birthfather and his face turned from indifference to hate and disgust, “I will not go with you! You left me to die! Odin is right I do not belong to you!” With a quick flip of his tail he was next to Odin, “you are nothing but a thief and murderer, give me back my brother!”

Laufey growled and his powerful tail flicked wildly in the water, “he is my prisoner, he came to wage war and we will judge him for his crimes, he will pay! But since I am not the cruel monster you take me for I will give you a gift, to show my…generosity.”

He let out a shout and two of his men entered carrying a tiny looking merman between them. Peter’s eyes widened as he took the horribly beaten form of Fandral in. The young merman had a sand coloured tail and little darker fins but the pale skin of his chest was littered with bruises and his tail had numerous cuts.

Loki swallowed as Fandral was thrown at the ground before him. Laufey chuckled at their expressions, “they put up quite a fight but in the end they overestimated themselves. Take this one however and rest assured that the prince is still alive.”

Odin growled and bared his teeth while two of his guards picked up the unconscious merman, “get him to the medical bay, right now.” The guards nodded and disappeared. Peter watched absolutely horrified.

Laufey chuckled again and turned around to leave, “my offer still stands Odin, a son for a son. I will wait three days, then you will either agree or receive another present, then another and another until you have all of your son back in your arms.”

Loki stiffed and Odin’s knuckles turned white as his grip on his weapon tightened even more. The Jotun King swam away and once he was outside, both royals released their breath. Loki’s shoulders slumped and he looked a little defeated, “why did you never tell me?”

Odin sighed and turned to look at his son, “because I feared you would do something impulsive, that you would leave us, trying to find out who you are. If you did Laufey would have grasped you and pulled you into the darkness, I couldn’t risk that.”

Loki nodded slowly, “I…guess I understand but I am not happy about it.” Odin chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder, “oh son, no one would, now call your friend down here and we will go home. You should also talk to your mother.”

The prince nodded and called for Peter, the young merman untied the blanked from his tail and followed the prince down not able to hide the blush as Odin’s gaze hit him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony stepped out on his patio a big grin on his face, “Jarvis tell Pepper I am on a…business trip?”

“Sir, Miss Pots is aware of Master Peter, why would you want to not tell her where you go?”

Tony made a face and the faceplate went down, “because she would try to talk me out of it or at least annoy me too much for me to properly enjoy any of this, so just make something up.”

“As you wish Sir.”

Tony grinned and flew up to the sky checking the signal he had received from Peter only weeks ago. Now he would finally see his merman again.

With a huge splash he dived down into the sea and waited for a moment. They had tested the suit extensively but he was still a little worried that he would drown if he went too deep. Normal human paranoia probably.

Slowly he dived deeper and the suit gladly kept him warm, dry and the pressure bearable. It didn’t seem like he made any mistakes, well of course he didn’t he was Tony Stark after all, and so he followed his fishy friend’s trail until he was so deep down that barely any light hit the ocean floor.

Somehow Tony never imagined the ocean to be this dark but it did make sense that it was. He shot through the water until he found the entrance to the cave system, at least he thought he found it since he couldn’t enter. The entrance was so slim that his armour didn’t fit through it, it was too big.

The genius stared at the entrance and sighed, maybe he should break it open but that would probably make him look like an enemy and he didn’t want that. His appearance would probably already cause enough trouble for Peter even if he was friendly, so maybe keeping a low profile would be the best thing to do.

The human didn’t notice the eyes of the mermen that were watching him and he surely didn’t notice how they readied themselves for an attack, should he decide to enter the caves. Tony just sighed oblivious to the potential threat and pulled out a tiny drone from his gauntlet. It was kind of shaped like a spider so it could easily hide or blend in as a weird animal.

“Jarvis I want you explore what is down there but make sure you are not detected, I don’t want to get in trouble, well just not yet.”

“Of course Sir.”

The drone began to swim and shot through the gap displaying what it saw into Tony’s visual. The genius hummed rather pleased and walked away from the entrance looking around the ocean floor for anything interesting.

He was scanning the area noticing that the cave system was going really deep and he was mildly concerned about his knew friend in case an earthquake would come. Then again Peter had told him that his kind was old and when they had always lived down there than maybe it was safe after all.

The genius looked around and bent down to pick up a rather beautiful and almost perfect seashell as something flew over his head. A little confused he straightened and looked at the spear that had hit a rock and fell to the ground.

“Jarvis?”

“Sir I am picking up a few heat signatures that resemble Master Peter very much, although the size indicates that these are grown subjects.”

Tony heard a yell and turned around facing an angry looking merman that shot like a torpedo at him. With a yelp Tony fired up his repulsors and jumped out of the way, “ah I guess you are right.”

The merman turned around and Tony raised his hands, “wait there Nemo I come in peace.” His attacker didn’t react and Tony didn’t have time to say something else as he was hit in the back.

With a groan he hit the ground but gladly his suit wasn’t damaged.

“Sir I found the inhabitants of the caves, they haven’t noticed my presence yet.”

Tony got on his feet and suddenly realized that there were now three angry looking mermen armed with spears surrounding him, “if one of them isn’t Peter I don’t care at the moment Jarvis. Do I have any none lethal weapons?”

“I am afraid besides your repulsors you only have heavy weaponry on you Sir.”

Tony cursed and jumped up high as one of the mermen charged at him. One of the remaining two used that opportunity to throw his spear at him while the other swam towards his back.

The genius was at an obvious disadvantage here since he had no idea how to properly fight underwater. Tony easily caught the spear before it his armour but he didn’t see the attacker from behind coming.

Two inhumanly strong arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him to the floor.

“Ah come on I said I was peaceful, why do you want me to beat you up?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter swam back to his cave glad that Odin and Loki had too much to discuss because of their family drama that he had gotten off easily. The King would probably call for him to come in a day or two when this whole issue was sorted out but for now he would take what he could get.

With a sigh he swam towards the opening already reaching out to pull the curtain aside when a light caught his eyes. He blinked and frowned.

A tiny device, unmistakably technology from the surface, floated in the water. He gaped as it spoke in a familiar voice, “Master Peter, is it safe to talk?”

“Holy shit! Jarvis?” the boy looked around quickly before peeking inside the cave; his aunt was not home yet. He waved at the AI and swam inside, “in here, this is safer.”

Jarvis followed and Peter swallowed looking at the strange thing, he couldn’t even properly describe it. Rubbing his face he let out a breath, “please don’t tell me Tony found me.” The AI sounded hesitant as he answered, “he did.”

“Gods no, then please tell me he is not somewhere down here?”

Again the AI hesitated before answering, “he is.” Peter threw his hands up in the water, “he is insane, t-tell me he is insane.” The device swam around in the small cave as if it was looking around, “he certainly is not sane Master Peter but you need to assist him, he is currently being attacked by your kind and it seems like he is in a disadvantage. If they damage his suit enough he might drown.”

Peter didn’t like how that sounded and sighed, “either I let Tony die or I get in a tremendous amount of trouble. Gods I love it when I can choose between getting my tail broken and my fins sliced.”

“I am afraid I do not understand this analogy but I must insist that you hurry, my first priority is Mr Stark’s wellbeing.”

Peter sighed, “alright lead the way.” Jarvis immediately complied and led Peter straight to his friend, his stupid, human friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony was held down by two mermen. His arms pinned to the ocean floor while the third hit his chest with his spear, well not his spear but his friends. The first was already broken since the wood wasn’t strong enough to hold against his metal.

The sharp stone tied to the top on the other hand had left a few scratches and a slight dent. Tony feared that with more time they really could some damage.

To his dismay the men were insanely strong and so he actually had some trouble to free himself. Gods he had known that Peter was strong but apparently he had been one of the weaker representative of his people.

This was crazy and Tony had to do something, but he still refused to hurt these people, “dammit how many times do I have to say it I am not an enemy, I am an…ambassador dammit.” The merman that held the spear scoffed, “humans are evil and you know where we live so we will destroy you.”

“Oh come on I want to speak to your king.”

The mermen exchanged a look, “you know we have a king?” Tony was about to answer but a shout drew the mermen’s attention, “stop, don’t hurt him!”

One of the attackers scoffed, “oh look it is Parker.” Tony used that opportunity to fire up his repulsors to shoot out from under his attackers. He shot through the water landing just behind Peter, the drone floated next to him and as soon as Tony was in reach, it reattached itself to the armour.

“Thanks for the rescue kid,” Tony said with a smile behind his faceplate. Peter glanced at him over his shoulder, “you are not saved, yet.” It was only a whisper but the merman that already spoke chuckled, “damn right, Parker here has no authority whatsoever and as far as we are concerned you are both a threat to our people.”

Tony growled, “I am not threat I came to talk to your king, my people are interested in trading with you and form an alliance, we want nothing but peace.” Peter swallowed and looked at Tony; the genius could not decipher his look.

“Your people want peace, holy shit, Parker what have you done? How many of them know about us?”

Peter swallowed and looked to the floor, “you should have stayed away Tony, you really should have.” Tony frowned but the mermen slowly got closer, “I think we should get him to the king, both of them so he may judge them.”

Peter swallowed and Tony raised an eyebrow, “well I would love to meet him, lead the way Fabius.” The merman made a confused face but he did take the lead and swam away. Peter followed and behind him Tony.

“Uh hey this all aside, I…I missed you Pete.”

Peter looked at him with a sad expression, “oh Tony, I missed you too of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trouble is about to unfold and what will become of Thor?   
> See next chapter ^^


	12. Tony

The throne room was a rather impressive cave that was lit up by a hole in the ceiling and illumines jellyfish that slowly hoovered through the cave. Tony gaped like a fool and was glad that he wore his faceplate.   
Inside stood three thrones, one gigantic seat that was ornamented with gems and belonged to the king; Tony spotted many rubies that were making a weird shape. The second was smaller but also richly decorated but the décor was more elegant and subtle than the other, the golden queen occupied that seat.   
On the third, Loki rested and while the throne was also unreasonably large, carvings and a few emeralds only decorated it. Tony wondered why Loki was there, normally the heir was supposed to sit there and Peter had called Loki the second prince, so he wasn’t the heir to the throne, was he?   
The king glared down at the human his one eye judging and mistrusting, while his other was closed shut. A large scar covered it. The king looked regal with his golden spear and his crown of gold. Tony was quite sure that he had seen it on a list of sunken treasures.   
The queen looked at him with a curious expression. She was draped in gold and well everything about her was golden. Her hair, her weird poncho and even her fishtail. Her hands were folded in her lap and she wore no crown, or maybe she did and Tony simply couldn’t see because a golden crown on a golden head would look fucking stupid.   
Loki looked tense and his eyes nervously darted between Peter and Tony, apparently he was not happy to see either of them. The prince still looked exactly as Tony remembered him but the warning look and the slight headshake Peter gave him told him that it was probably a bad idea to talk to the prince now.   
The king sat up a little straighter in his seat, “what is the meaning of this?” Damn his voice was loud.   
The merman that had taken the lead before bowed deeply, Peter followed and Tony just crossed his arms in front of his shoulder.   
“My king this surface dweller tried to enter our caves, he claims he comes in peace but he wears an armour clearly designed for war. We tried to stop him but Peter Parker interfered, apparently he his friends with this man.”   
Peter kept his head low and didn’t dare to look at either of the royals, Tony frowned at that. The queen looked rather surprised and leaned forward in her seat, one of her fingers slowly rubbing over her lips.   
The king glanced at his son who tried to look impassive about all of this.   
The merman continued, “we thought it best to bring the traitor and the invader to you oh great Odin so you may judge them in your wisdom.” Tony rolled his eyes; it wouldn’t surprise him if that guy would start to kiss Odin’s feet, well fins.   
The king nodded, “you done well with that decision Flash, you may retreat to your post.” Tony couldn’t hold the giggle, “really Flash? That is his name?” Peter glared at him, “stop it.” But Tony couldn’t hold it back, “but come on his name is flash, how can anyone take that guy seriously?”   
The merman glared at Tony but he swam away since his king ordered him to. Odin looked at Tony, obviously displeased with him, “now explain yourself, human.”   
Tony took a deep breath and gave a short bow to the royals, “my name is Anthony Edward Stark and I am here as an ambassador for humanity. Well at least for a few of us, I am here because I believe that a relationship between our people could me most beneficial.”   
Odin stared at him for a moment before he threw his head back and laughed. Tony actually flinched at the volume.   
“How could humanity help us? Us who have lived for centuries save and sound in those water? Isn’t it humanity who pollutes our oceans and kills the planet? Do you want to bring your destruction to us now? Include us in your sick desire to enslave the planet?”   
Tony’s eyebrow almost vanished in his hairline, that man was an idiot and old, both in his views and his body. This would not be easy.   
“How about weapons? Your men attacked me with spears that only did a few scratches on my armour, or how about harvest technologies so you could efficiently harvest plants for your food? Wouldn’t that beneficial to your people?”   
Odin gritted his teeth thinking about it, the queen put her hand on his arm, “it would indeed help the poorer parts of our population dear.” It was only a whisper but Tony’s suit picked it up anyway. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop on the royal couple but he also didn’t intent to stop the suit.   
“Dear the human greed is legendary they won’t give us anything without demanding some kind of price and then they will ask for more and more until they just take what they want. I cannot risk our people’s safety for that.”   
Tony almost spoke up but he bit his lip to keep quiet, he needed to be diplomatic, for Peter’s sake. The king turned back to his human visitor.   
“Although you don’t seem hostile human, I have to ask how did you find us?”   
Tony swallowed, “I ah it was just a coincidence. You know took my suit for a swim and stumbled upon this here.” Odin scoffed, “still Flash claimed that you are friends with Peter.”   
Both Loki and Peter flinched at that and the Queen knitted her eyebrows together. Tony licked his lips, “ah well yeah about that I kind of met Peter and we well we got along great and I thought if everyone is just as great as he is than I could you know, meet you.”   
Peter looked up to the king, “my king if I just-,” but he was cut off by a roar.   
“Silence boy!”   
Peter flinched and seemed to shrink under the angry gaze of his king. Oh man Tony really started to dislike the man. Good think that they couldn’t see his face, “Sir please, Peter did nothing wrong and he didn’t tell me anything about your people, I am just-,” again Odin cut in.  
“He didn’t do anything wrong?! It is forbidden to talk to humans; we don’t want you to know about us for a reason. Peter committed treason against our people!”   
Tony flinched and looked at the boy next to him. Peter had tears in his eyes and his hands were tightly clenched in fists, this was not good.  
Peter next to him became even paler, but Odin ignored him.   
“Sir I think you are-,” Tony began but of course Odin didn’t let him finish. The merman got up and slammed the end of his spear into the ground, “silence human! You came here and disturbed our people, you are not welcome and Peter, I was happy to find out my son finally found a friend to call his own but I cannot approve of this. You are a traitor to your kind and hereby I banish you!”   
Peter stared at him and Tony feared that the boy would faint any moment but he simply stared at the king. Tony swallowed, “Peter?”   
The boy shook his head, “no, please don’t say anything I-I cannot…” It almost broke Tony’s heart to see him like this, he wanted to put things right but he also knew that the old king would not change his mind.   
To his surprise the queen looked rather displeased at her husband. Loki just gaped at his father but he didn’t speak up. A sniff let Tony turn to look at his merman.   
“My ki…am I allowed to say my goodbyes to my aunt? I am her only family.”   
Odin shook his head, “no you are to leave now, both of you and human if you ever set foot down here again, you will meet the full force of our army and you will die.”  
Tony had an insult on the tip of his lips but Peter grabbed his arm and pulled him away, “come,” he whispered, “we need to go.”   
Tony wanted to protest but Peter gave him a pleading look. With a sigh the genius followed after his friend. Peter guided him through the tunnels to the nearest exit and they both swam out into the open water and away.   
“Peter?”   
The merman didn’t reply he just swam not looking at his friend. Tony sighed heavily, “Peter please, I am sorry.” The boy stopped dead in his tracks, “you are sorry?” He spun around, “no, no, you are not. You knew what might happen if you came here, I told you that me talking to you could get me banished and still you came. What were you thinking!”   
Tony wished he could look guilty but his faceplate hid his expression completely, “I never wanted to pull you into this, at least not from the start. I wanted to go straight to the king and you know talk reason into him.”   
Peter shook his head, “this is not how it works down here and now I can never see my friends and my family again. I-I don’t know what to do.”   
He sounded so lost that Tony’s heart almost broke. Truth to be told he had known that coming down here could end up in a disaster; he didn’t think it would be quite this disastrous though. Tony wanted nothing more than to hug the boy but he was sure Peter wouldn’t accept it right now and through his armour it wouldn’t feel any good anyway.   
“We will go home and I will order pizza and then we will watch some TV. How does that sound?”   
Peter let out a breath his gills flared and he absently played with the thin webbing between his fingers. Tony was still fascinated by Peter’s body because many things, like the webbing, seemed to disappear once he left the water.   
“I sounds…agreeable.”   
Tony smirked at him, “agreeable? Gods Pete you hang out with that prince too much.” Peter chuckled and together they swam into the direction of Tony’s house.   
They both knew that they would still have to talk, that the crisis was not solved yet and that most likely there would be much shouting and crying in the future but neither of them wanted to think about that right now.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Loki watched his friend go with that blasted human and anger boiled up inside of him. Tony ruined everything. The price swallowed and briefly closed his eyes.   
Together with Thor’s capture and the revelations of his heritage this was just too much to deal with. Next to him Odin sunk back into his seat, “do you want to explain this to me Loki?” The prince glanced at his father, “ah…no?”   
The king waved his hand and all the guards left the cave so he could have a proper talk with his son. Loki shrunk under his blazing gaze.   
“No? You were the one claiming that you saved that boy and now this human turns up, knowing about us and even claims to be a friend to Peter. What have you done?”   
Loki sighed and noticed his mother’s stern look; oh boy this was probably getting him grounded for some time.  
The prince took a deep breath before he began to talk, “well I only kind of saved Peter. That human, Tony, he captured Peter by accident in his net and injured him. He is not an evil man though so he took him home where Peter could heal properly.”   
The look he earned from his mother made him blush. Quickly he continued, “other things happened and Peter got in trouble but Tony saved him, he built that armour and that was when I met him. Jormungandr tracked them but Peter convinced me not to kill Tony and I…I stayed a night in his place.”   
For a moment Loki was certain Odin would throw him into the deepest hole he could find but the king just seemed speechless so it was Frigga who spoke, “you stayed in his cave? On the surface?”   
Loki nodded slipping from his seat so he was out of his father’s reach, better safe than sorry.   
“Yes mother and it was quite impressing a-and he took good care of us, he is…like some kind of prince himself.”   
Odin frowned, “he is royalty?” Loki shook his head and the queen followed her lower lip with the tip of her finger, “No he is technically not, but I guess that is because the humans don’t believe in monarchs anymore. However as far as I know he is rich, influential and very well educated.”   
Loki was actually not too sure about all of that but he needed to give his father something or he might punish him really bad. A few days of confinement were alright if he was able to visit Peter afterwards.   
Odin growled, “well then I might not sent my warriors after him so he may be killed but you young man, you are in trouble.” Loki looked at his mother pleadingly but she just smiled, she did not intent to help him with this.   
“Father please I…I didn’t tell him anything, Peter didn’t either, this human is just very…inventive and smart.”   
Odin raised his hand and Loki fell silent, “Loki until Thor gets back and this whole…issue is resolved you are to stay in your cave. Sif will ensure that you do not leave without permission.”   
The boy’s face fell, “Sif? I mean, no please father I want to help to get Thor back. You cannot just lock me up.” Odin raised an eyebrow, “I cannot?” Frigga chuckled at Loki’s stupid mistake and the boy growled, “Please father.”   
Odin lifted his spear and the end hit the floor, on cue two guards entered the throne cave, “my decision is final, you are to stay in your cave until your brother returns!” The guards swam up to the prince who glared at his father, “you won this round old man,” he muttered and earned a chuckle from his mother before he was led away.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Frigga watched as her youngest left the cave, this development was rather intriguing. Odin rubbed his forehead as he sunk into his chair, “Please stop dear.”   
His queen smiled innocently, “what am I doing my king?” The merman looked at his wife with a rather weary expression, “Frigga I know you and I know that you are planning something and I ask you not to do this.”   
The mermaid rose and swam in front of her husband. She gently removed his hand from his forehead kissed it. Through all the hardship they had experienced in their life, the two had always loved each other.   
“Odin you must see that change is inevitable, it will come and you cannot stall it forever. Loki will-.”   
“Loki is not my heir!” Odin interrupted her grabbing one of her hands so she wouldn’t back away. Frigga looked at him completely unimpressed.   
“Loki is a good boy I love him dearly and you know that but he will never rule, he is not fit to be a king and we both know that.”   
The queen nodded, “I know he will never take the throne, it would suit him ill but he cares deeply about our people and he will be a great advisor to Thor.”   
Odin narrowed his one eye at her, “so that is what you are planning all along. You want Thor to be Loki’s puppet.”   
The queen slowly pulled her hand out of his grip, “I only want what is best for our people.” The king knew that she meant it but he also knew that she was not Asgardian and that she doesn’t completely understand why and how his people did things.   
With a sigh he rose from his seat, “my love I beg you not to interfere with this, Thor is a good man and he will be a good king, someday and until he is it is upon us to guide and teach him.” The queen nodded but her lips were pressed together and Odin knew that she was not surrendering, she never did.   
Together they left the cave and swam towards their private caves where they would sit together, enjoying each other’s company.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was so dark that Thor was unable to see anything in his cell. Well cell was a little exaggerated, he was put in a hole in the ground and the Jotuns had put a large rock over it so he couldn’t escape.   
It was cold and dark and Thor hated every minute he had to spend there. His own foolishness was the reason he had been captured and got his friends killed. He and Fandral had been accompanied by two guards who had agreed to come with him.   
Those two had been killed by the Jotuns in the blink of an eye. Thor really hoped that Fandral was well, since they had been separated from each other when they were captured.   
The prince pulled his tail up to his chest and hugged it tightly, it didn’t give him much comfort but it was all he got at the moment. Thor hated how vulnerable he felt, how small and scared he was.   
In the stories his father had told him he had always described the Jotuns as large mermen and fierce warriors but Thor had been surprised how downright savage they had been. Nothing he had learned had prepared him for this in any way.   
The only thing he was glad about was that Loki had refused to come with him on this adventure, if Loki had gotten hurt he would probably never been able to forgive himself. Suddenly the rock above him moved and a ray of light hit the prince square in the face.   
It was not overly bright giving that they were far below the surface but it was bright enough so Thor was blinded for a moment. Strong and rough hands grabbed his arms and he was pulled up from where he was sitting.   
The prince didn’t struggle, it was no use anyway and he would rather save his strength seeing that the Jotuns didn’t care to feed him too well. Savages.   
“Well Odinson how do you fare?”   
Thor blinked and glared at the king, is idiotic son stood beside him, a cruel smile on his face. Byleist was a huge merman not as tall as his father but he was one huge mountain of muscles. Thor assumed that his diet contained probably a ton of fish and a human or fellow merman once in a while.   
“I fare as well as I can, giving your standards on hospitality,” Thor said managing a smile. Loki would have been proud.   
Laufey smirked but his son knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, he was big and he was stupid. The king waved a hand and the men who held Thor let go but didn’t put any distance between him and the prince. At least they deemed him dangerous.   
Laufey made a mocking excuse for a bow and turned, “swim with me Odinson there are things we have to talk about.” Thor held back the eye roll as he swam next to the king, as if he got a choice.   
Next to each other they swam through a labyrinth of tunnels and caves the guards and Byleist behind them. Just as Thor began to wonder what the King wanted to talk about he began his explanation.   
“I met with your father today, he wants you back.”   
Thor smiled, “understandable, I am the heir to the throne after all.” Laufey rolled his eyes, “I know but your father refused to pay the ransom for you and I am asking myself what worth do you have to me if I cannot get what I want?”  
Thor’s smile fell and he felt an uneasy tingle in his stomach, why would his father refuse to pay for him? Laufey just told him that he wanted him back, so why the delay?   
“What did you ask him for in exchange for me?”  
Laufey stopped in a large cave. It was surprisingly dark in there and it seemed like the giant hole in the middle sucked in what little light there was. Thor swallowed but didn’t dare to look at the hole for too long.   
The king swam to the edge of the hole, his hands were behind his back and he looked down into the darkness. It made the prince even more uneasy to watch him floating there.   
“I asked for my son.”   
Thor raised an eyebrow. He knew that he was and never would be as smart as Loki but that just didn’t make any sense. The prince glanced at Byleist who waited at the entrance to the cave talking quietly with the guards.   
“Your son?”   
Laufey turned around and grinned, “oh yes, you see Byleist is not my only offspring. I have another, someone you know very well and love?” Thor looked at him completely confused, “alright you lost me.”   
The king let out a laugh, it didn’t sound nice, or happy.   
“Of course you have no idea what is going on, Odin is a thief and a liar but he is very good at it.”   
Thor growled, “do not insult my father, he is a great man and you will not talk ill about him!” The guards and Byleist looked into their direction but neither moved since the king didn’t gave them a sign to do so.   
“Oh but I only speak the truth crown prince, your father stole my son, raised him as his own and tried to destroy the traces of his true heritage. Loki is my son.”   
Thor stared at him with wide eyes, his mind was trying to understand but not for the first time in his life, it failed him completely.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
All Tony wanted was to spend a quiet evening with Peter, eat some pizza and maybe watch pirates of the Caribbean with his friend. Of course life had different plans for him but at least he had Jarvis.   
Tony shot out of the water and landed on the landing stage next to his yacht where Peter’s wheelchair was still standing and waiting for the boy.   
“Ah home dry home,” Tony said with a smile and stepped out of his armour, “glad to be back.”   
“Sir I have to inform you that Miss Potts is waiting for you upstairs and she is most likely to demand an explanation for your absence.”   
Tony grimaced and grabbed the chair to push it over to where his friend climbed out of the water. Peter thanked him and sat down.   
“Why is she here? What did you tell her Jarv?”   
The AI sounded a little guilty, “I told her that you went to search for Master Peter.” The merman sighed as Tony pushed him into the elevator, “ah so you only wanted to speak to the king huh?”   
Tony let his head hang low, “I-I am sorry.” Peter shrugged, “you know I don’t get why you feel the need to lie to me and yourself, I just…I don’t understand.”   
The human bit his lip and pushed Peter into his living room where Pepper stood looking almost lethal. Damn that woman was frightening.   
“Tony you better…Peter? Welcome back, nice to see you. How have you been?”  
Peter smiled politely at the human, “hello Pepper I am well, excuse me, you will want to scream at Tony in private.” He rolled his chair out on the patio and next to the pool and with one smooth motion he slipped into the water, trying shut the world out, if even for a moment.   
The water in Tony’s pool was warm and it did feel kind of cosy with the sand and seagrass. Peter smiled as a few guppies swam by him. The colourful fish swam close to him and nipped at his skin and tail searching for food.   
The merman sighed and began to draw shapes into the sand, he already missed his aunt and now he would never see her again. Peter wanted to blame Tony for all of this but he couldn’t, he knew that it was also his fault, he shouldn’t have stayed with him he should have never enjoyed watching the man on his boat.   
Still, against better judgement, he had. Night after night he had come to watch him, he had laughed when the man sung along to his weird human music and he had found it strangely fascinating that whenever he had caught something in his net, he would set it free again.   
Tony had fascinated him so much and it had been his own fault for getting careless and too close. Now he would pay the price for his foolishness.   
Peter bit his lip as he felt the ache in his heart. If May was lucky the king would sent someone to inform her of what happened to Peter, if she was not she would search for him until some guard would tell her. She didn’t deserve that, not one bit.   
Peter sniffed rubbing his eyes with both hands and startling the tiny fish around him. This was not fair, not at all. Peter opened his eyes and looked up as he heard steps getting closer to his pool.   
It was Pepper who looked into the water to spot him. The boy slowly rose and peeked out of the water, “may I help you?” The woman smiled gently at him, “oh there you are, I just wanted to say goodbye I am leaving. Please keep an eye on Tony I don’t want him to do anything stupid, but he doesn’t listen to me anyway.”   
Peter smiled, “Tony listens to no one, not even Jarvis so you shouldn’t take it personal.” Pepper chuckled and looked at the man who stood in front of the closed glass door. Peter raised an eyebrow at him.   
“He would probably listen to you, you know.”   
Peter snorted at that, “no he doesn’t, he doesn’t care what I want or what is good for me.” Pepper sighed and crouched next to the pool looking at Peter intensely, “Peter I am not exactly sure what happened between you two but I know that Tony often does things without thinking about them too deep. He is like a child at times and doesn’t understand that having good intentions doesn’t mean good will actually happen.”  
She let out a sigh, “but no matter what he has done, believe me when I say, he did it because he deeply cares about you. I haven’t seen him so invested about someone or something in quite some time. This armour, this is a huge step in technology, it is one of a kind Peter, and he did it all for you, he created something so advanced only for you.”   
The boy swallowed and looked down on his hands, if that was true and he really meant so much to the human, then maybe they could work it out. Peter smiled at Pepper, “thanks for your words, goodbye Pepper.”  
The woman smiled, stood and walked back into the house to leave. Peter watched her go and his eyes met Tony’s. To hide his blush he dived down into the water again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it   
> Please leave a comment and tell me what you think


	13. Getting along

The first day Peter was staying with Tony, everything was alright. He joined Tony for breakfast and dinner and spent the day on the couch watching TV and learning more about weird human customs. He was very enthralled by all those wedding shows and kept asking Jarvis question like, “why is that woman screaming at her mate over flowers?” Or, “I don’t understand why she would be angry about receiving the same bowl twice it will come in handy, won’t it?”

The AI would explain as many things as possible to the merman but since even Jarvis was unable to understand all of the weird human behaviour, they were sometimes at a loss of things. Occasionally they would ask Tony who would just shrug and say, “Women are weird.”

On the second day Peter was already changing, he still joined Tony for the meals but he was quiet most of the time, only speaking when spoken to and he didn’t even comment on the TV anymore. It even went so far that he shut the TV off and rolled outside the patio to look at the ocean, almost receiving a sunburn in the process.

On the third day, everything went to shit. Peter refused to leave the water, lying curled up on the floor and staring at the tiles that surrounded him. Tony would try to gain his attention for almost an hour until Jarvis told him that Pepper had called him on an important matter. The genius had only reluctantly left.

Tony however wasn’t able to forget about that. Peter’s state was quite alarming and he was unsure of what to do. After the thing with Obie people had come to console him and not the other way around.

He was used to getting taken care of and not taking care of others, that was his favourite part about being and only child. Tony paced his workshop occasionally looking at the screen that showed the surface of the pool.

The angle of the camera was so that he could overlook the patio but not look directly into the water to give Peter some privacy, he was a teenager after all.

“Sir, Master Peter hasn’t moved since last night I suggest another approach on him might be a good idea.”

Tony swallowed and eyed the bottle of scotch on his bar but didn’t take it. He had promised Pepper to drink less and only after five pm. The genius sighed and nodded, “I guess you are right I will talk to him, but what should I tell him?”

Tony opened the doors of his workshop and walked outside, “I already told him that I am sorry about destroying his life and forcing him to live with me, what else can I say?”

The AI was silent until Tony stepped into the living room, “Sir, maybe it is time you don’t say anything.” Tony sighed and walked out on the patio.

The water was completely undisturbed and Tony didn’t really want to change that but it was time for him to be there for his friend. With another sigh crouched next to the water looking down on the pitiful looking form of Peter as he was curled up and hiding his face under his arm.

Tony bit his lip, “Peter, you haven’t moved since…a long time please come inside and eat something or use the bathroom or whatever.” Peter didn’t move and he didn’t even seem to acknowledge his presence and Tony grew irritated at that, he didn’t like being ignored.

He rubbed his face and remembered what Jarvis had said; maybe it was time for him to be quiet. Tony stood and began to shed his clothes until he was only in his boxers and slowly climbed into the water. It was not cold due to the fact that the sun was shining almost all day on it but since the pool was rather large it didn’t feel like he was entering a baby pool.

Tony was too short to reach the floor with his feet so he floated a moment in the water before he took a deep breath and dived down to his friend.

Peter seemed surprised by the disturbance in the water and removed the arm from his face. His eyes widened as he spotted Tony over him, “Tony what?”

The merman didn’t have time to finish his sentence because Tony pulled him into a hug. Peter went stiff and froze for a moment before all his dams broke and he wrapped his arms around the human.

Sobbing like a little child he clung to Tony bathing in his warmth and affection. He only stopped because Tony began to slap his arm repeatedly. Peter frowned but as he saw the distressed look in the humans face, he understood.

“Oh shit!”

Quickly he pushed them up to the surface and Tony greedily gasped for air, “I am so sorry Tony I didn’t intend to drown you.” The human waved his hand still sucking in air, “no-no problem, I ah I underestimated how strong you are.”

Peter laughed and with a flip of his tail he brought them to the shallow part of the pool where Tony had shaped it more like a beach and they laid down in the sand. Tony had finally calmed and Peter once again admired the human’s body.

Tony was on his back taking deep breaths and Peter noticed that since they departed, Tony had put on some additional muscle mass. Must be because of the armour.

“Are you alright?”

Peter focused on Tony’s face a light blush dusted his cheeks, “I ah shouldn’t I ask you that? I mean I nearly drowned you.” Tony chuckled and closed his eyes, “people have tried to do worse to me, believe me.”

Peter moved closer to the human still searching for comfort. He put his head on Tony’s shoulder and an arm over his chest, missing the surprised and almost scandalized look from the human.

“Like what?”

Tony sighed and put his hand over Peter’s, being so close to someone in a non-sexual way was kind of weird but he liked it. His other arm found its way around the boy’s back and he began to draw slow circles on his shoulder.

“Oh I remember one time, one of the girls I slept with claimed that she was pregnant with my child, too bad for her that the child looked more like my friend Rhodey than me when it came out.”

Peter closed his eyes, his tail was lazily flicking in the water and he enjoyed the other man’s scent, he smelled so good.

“There are a few things I don’t understand about what you just said.”

Tony chuckled, “alright you see people like me, Bruce and Pepper are white, because we have so light skin. My friend Rhodey is black but I think you are not allowed to say that anymore for some reason, but what I mean is that he has rather dark skin which in no way looks like mine.”

Peter hummed signalling that he kind of understood, “I already seen humans with other skin tones or colours, it is quite fascinating actually and beautiful.” Tony smiled, “I am glad that you think that way.”

“So I got that but what do you mean with pregnant?”

“Ah you have probably seen women on TV with weird, big and round bellies. Those are pregnant, meaning they carry a human baby inside of them. We don’t lay eggs we ah oh man what weird choices have I made in life that led to me explaining pregnancy to a merman?”

Peter chuckled and pressed himself even closer against the human, he missed the contact he usually had with his aunt, but this was a worthy alternative.

“Well ah uh women kind of carry eggs inside of them and men put their seed inside so ah hopefully a baby will develop inside the woman.”

Peter opened his eyes and blinked, “that is fascinating how many babies can one woman carry?” Tony frowned, “I think the record is around twelve or so but normally we just have one or two at the same time.”

The boy sat up running a hand through his drying hair, it looked really cute, those messy curls, “only one or two, our mermaids mostly lay up to twenty eggs and if we are lucky half of them are successfully fertilized and one or two survive in the end. Although it got better since we live in caves and protect one another.”

Tony looked up to the boy noticing that Peter’s hand still rested on his chest since he was still holding it. The boy didn’t seem to mind though. Tony looked at his face, “and you don’t have sex right?”

Peter sighed, “No, we don’t which is also a reason why we have so few offspring. Sometimes I think we are doomed to go extinct.” Tony sat up and pulled the boy back against his chest. He didn’t want him to get sad again.

Peter looked a little surprised but didn’t resist, instead he leaned into it wrapping his arms around the human, “thank you Tony, I ah I know you are only trying to help me.” Tony let go of Peter to only put a hand on his cheek, “of course I am, Pete, you are one of the most important things in my life. If not the most important by now.”

The boy blushed and averted his gaze with a nervous chuckle, “Tony I ah…don’t be silly.” Tony raised his other hand to capture his face before he could turn away, “no Peter, I mean it don’t question my feelings for you because if you do then I lose my confidence and then we are both screwed.”

Peter looked at the other man and sighed, “Tony I…” He trailed off not knowing what he should respond. Tony was the man that made his stomach tickle with this weird warm feeling and he was the one who took everything from him. It was weird and kind of twisted and Peter was not in the state of mind to deal with it.

Tony however seemed to know what he wanted as his soft lips connected with Peter’s. The boy was startled and thought about pulling back but a not so tiny part of him didn’t want that. Instead, he closed his eyes and parted his lips allowing Tony’s warm tongue to enter him and he found himself shivering with excitement.

Someone cleared his throat.

Both of them jumped apart and Peter failed to fight his instinct and just slipped back into the water splashing a generous amount of it on Tony. The genius sputtered trying to get rid of the saltwater in his mouth.

Sticking out his tongue and wiping it he glared up to see who had dared to destroy their moment.

“Hi Tony.”

“Bruce?”

Quickly Tony got on his feet and walked up to the Doctor, “oh my, Bruce, how are you I haven’t seen you since…?” The man quickly examined Tony’s naked chest before focusing on his face again, “since you put me in that helicopter and told Jarvis to fly me back.”

Tony nodded suddenly feeling a little guilty about that, “oh yeah right, how have you been?” Bruce looked at him before he turned his head to smile at the pool, “hello Peter, nice to see you again.”

The boy smiled brightly, “Bruce! How are you? Where have you been?” Tony felt a pang of jealousy in his chest as the boy greeted the man so cheerfully.

Peter swam to the rim of the pool and Bruce crouched down to briefly pat his hand in a weird greeting and Tony almost gritted his teeth. Bruce didn’t notice how tense Tony suddenly was and focused on the boy, “all is well for me but how have you been and why are you back in Tony’s pool?”

Peter’s smile got a little strained but it didn’t fall, “I ah well I was banished for befriending Tony.” Bruce’s eyes widened and he looked at Tony who shrugged, “let’s not talk about that now, why are you here?”

Bruce stood and to their surprise, he looked a little embarrassed, “ah Pepper told me that you two could need some company and that you owe me an apology.” Tony smiled a little sheepishly, “I guess I do well, let’s go inside and have breakfast? Or lunch? I don’t know what time it is.”

Bruce chuckled, “it is afternoon Tony.” Both man walked inside while Peter climbed into the wheelchair and followed them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki threw a rock against the wall. Yes that was basically it since there was barely anything else he could do. Loki had tried to get away as soon as he was confined in his room but Sif had captured him and put him back.

After the third attempt Odin had ordered to lock him up, which basically meant that a giant rock was placed in front of his cave’s entrance and only a too small gap remained. Loki hated to be locked up but he was unable to do anything against it.

The prince picked up another stone and threw it against the wall. He had a good aim so there already was a spot on the wall that was marked by all the time he had hit it. It was so frustrating and at some point he just started to yell at everything and everyone.

It didn’t help of course and so Loki soon had stopped again saving his energy for his angry throwing. With a sigh he rolled around on top of his bed mentally screaming at Tony for getting them into that mess. It was all that stupid human’s fault, because of him Peter got banished, because of him he was locked up in his cave with nothing to occupy him with.

“May I enter?”

“Can I stop you?”

Odin chuckled and the rock was pushed away so he could swim into his son’s cave. He looked around and spotted the mess Loki had made. Blankets were thrown around and pieces of jewellery and armour lay strewn around.

The king sighed, “you know I do this because it is best for you.” Loki rolled his eyes and kept staring at the ceiling, “sure father whatever you say.”

Odin sighed and looked at his son, “I will meet with Laufey again to get your brother back,” Odin stated and sat down on a rock looking at his son. Loki sat up and eyed his father, “are you going to attack him with our army?”

The king shook his head, “no I will offer him our treasures but I will not wage war if I can prevent it.” Loki sighed, “That won’t work, Laufey wants me and he knows that Thor is too valuable to give up. You need to be smart about this father, let me accompany you, let me help you.”

Odin sighed, now he could see the boy that Frigga always saw, the advisor and caretaker of Thor. He had not lied as he told Loki that he considered him his son and he loved him dearly but still Thor was his eldest and his trueborn son. The throne belonged to him and not to Loki; he would make sure that Thor would take it.

“I cannot endanger you; your mother would never forgive me if something happened to you. You will stay here Loki.”

The prince shot up and followed his father to the entrance, “please I can help you, with me there Laufey will be distracted it will be easier to play him, please father.”

Odin waited for the stone to be rolled out of the way, “no, Loki I will not take you with me.” The prince flicked his tail angrily, “you are an old man and a fool if you believe that you are capable of taking Laufey on, on your own.”

The King sighed and nodded, “maybe I am.” With that he swam out of the cave and Loki growled at Sif who now blocked the entrance, looking as stern and irritating as always.

“I need to relieve myself, get out of my way.”

Sif sighed and let the prince pass but followed closely behind. Of course, Loki knew that she was just waiting for him to escape again but he had to try, he could outswim her if he managed to gain enough distance so she wouldn’t be able to catch his tail.

They rounded a corner and Loki stopped, “hello dear how are you today?” Frigga smiled down on her son glancing at Sif before grabbing the boy to place a kiss on his forehead. Loki blushed slightly and sighed he would never admit it but he just loved it when she showered him in affection.

The queen took her son’s arm and together they swam towards her private cave, “I am surprised that you haven’t yet found a way to escape dear.” Loki glared at Sif over his shoulder, “that blasted woman seems to know whatever I think.”

Frigga laughed and looked at Sif, “if that is the case maybe you two are made for each other.” Sif paled and Loki wrinkled his nose in disgust, “mother, please don’t even make fun of this.”

The queen giggled and shook her head, “oh you two are just lovely, but Sif, please leave us alone, I wish to speak to my son in private.” The warrior straightened, “I cannot do that my queen, the king gave me direct orders to not leave the prince’s side.”

Frigga wrinkled her nose, “I like that you are so dutiful my dear but I am serious, leave us.” The mermaid bit her lip while her tail flicked nervously in the water.

Loki rolled his eyes, he knew his mother long enough to see what she was trying to do. With a powerful flip of his tail he disturbed the calm water and a cloud of sand and dirt flew up blinding the warrior and his mother momentarily.

Loki turned around and with a satisfied smirk he shot through the water to the nearest exit to finally make his escape. Once outside he drew in a deep breath as a smile appeared on his lips.

Being the fastest swimmer of his people it didn’t take Loki long to catch up to his father and his party. They were once again going to the old ship where they had met the first time and Loki would make sure to attend that meeting too.

He stayed behind and watched as the party entered the ship only a few guards remained outside to watch out for enemies. Loki swam behind a few rocks watching the guards in hopes to find an opening so he could sneak inside.

The prince frowned and his fins flipped lazily as strong hands grabbed him. One hand clamped his mouth shut while two other grabbed his wrists to hold him down and another pair of hands grabbed his tail keeping him from trashing around.

A cold voice spoke directly into his ear and Loki felt terror rise inside of him, “I knew you would sneak around, just like the last time.”

Loki scream went unheard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay and for not writing so much   
> I am struck with a terrible case of not being able to concentrate and getting a cold  
> However please tell me what you think and leave a comment   
> Thanks for reading


	14. Even more trouble?

Tony woke up from a weird dream where he had to sit in a puddle all day while Pepper lectured him about something he didn’t even care to listen to when he was asleep.

The genius woke feeling all wet and was slowly realizing the reason for that. He had fallen asleep on the couch and at some point Peter had fallen asleep on top of him but not without draping his wet blanket over them both.

Tony blinked and looked at the peaceful expression of his merman and a smile broke out on his face. Gently he began to push the brown locks out of Peters face stopping as he gently stirred. Oh how he had missed the boy.

It did seem a little weird to Tony how comfortable he was on the dry land.

Tony gently caressed Peter’s cheek as he imagined the boy as a human. He imagined long slender legs, strong with muscles and pale as the rest of his body.

It would change though if he spent some time in the sun. Tony noticed suddenly that Peter already had a slight tan and he liked that. It suited him and made him even more adorable.

Peter stirred again and Tony sighed as he heard his stomach rumble loudly. He didn’t like it but he had to get up and so he slowly lifted the merman and put him down on the couch while getting up and into the bathroom.

Tony changed out of his damp clothes and put on some T-shirt and only a pair of boxers since no one was coming over anyway and Bruce had left hours ago. The genius had to admit he liked the man, he was nice, funny and disturbingly smart, which were all qualities he liked in a person.

That’s why he got along so well with himself.

The genius smiled and exited the bathroom noting that Peter was still asleep. He quickly picked up the blanked and wet it again so the now cool fabric would provide more of a comfort to the merman.

Tony walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge picking up a smoothie, Pepper insisted on getting him. For his health and stuff.

He took a sip and grimaced, it tasted way too healthy for his liking. Tony walked through the room and picked up a tablet to overlook the simulations he had ordered Jarvis to run the other day.

He was not the least bit satisfied with the results and took another sip from his smoothie. Tony glanced at Peter and walked out of the room and on the patio where he put the drink down.

“Jarvis?”

“Yes Sir?”

Tony licked his lips and sighed, “we have the Hydra data don’t we?” The AI sounded uncomfortable as he answered, “yes we have them Sir.”

The genius let out a breath looking over the vast sea, “then why aren’t you using it? I want you to run the simulations with that data. Else it could take years to accomplish anything.”

“Yes Sir.”

Tony didn’t like how Jarvis said that, it sounded kind of defeated. The genius ignored him and turned around just in time to see that Peter sat up on the couch looking around in confusion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki didn’t know a thing about his sire but he hated him to the core already. The Jotun that captured him blindfolded him so he had no idea where they were going. It was no secret where the Jotun’s lived and seeing that even Thor found them it wasn’t probably that big of a problem to get into the cave system but Loki feared that he was taken to some part of their home where, without guidance, no one would find him.

The water in the caves was much colder than the ones in his home but the prince didn’t mind, the cold had never bothered him much. What bothered him was that this probably meant that they were getting deeper and deeper and he didn’t like that.

At some point, his blindfold was removed and he hissed at the guards that were all almost twice his size. They ignored him and Loki knew that even if he managed to free himself he wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight anyway.

Once in a while he noticed the looks of other Jotuns who peeked out from their caves to sneak a look of the colourful merman. They all had blue or blue-grey tails and their eyes were weirdly red. Loki swallowed and was kind of glad that he took more after his mother.

The caves were dark but Loki had no problem seeing in the dim light but he was rushed along so fast that he had barely any time to look around. Finally the guards swam into a large cave and let go of the prince who rubbed his wrists.

They hadn’t hurt him but he did it out of spite. The cave was high and wide and against the wall there was a throne, carved out of a grey and rough looking stone. It was a rather simple seat and the only decoration it had were a few swirls that were carved into the stone.

Another throne just as big but slightly lower was set next to it. Normally that would probably the seat of the queen Loki guessed. The prince looked around and noticed that the guards were watching him while they flanked the entrance.

Loki sighed and looked at the thrones again, waiting for his sire to arrive. As soon as he detected the movement in the water the prince became stiff and wary.

“Welcome home, son.”

Loki scoffed and Laufey swam past him to take his seat. He looked regal and satisfied. The two mermen sized each other with their eyes, neither wanted to speak.

“Father, you have returned.”

That startled Loki who turned around to watch a huge merman swim past him. Laufey took his eyes off Loki to look at his firstborn.

“Byleist, please greet your little brother, Loki.”

The merman stopped and slowly turned to look at Loki. Suddenly the prince felt tiny and vulnerable. The Jotun bared his sharp teeth at him.

“Brother,” he sneered and Loki barely managed not to flinch away. The merman swam closer and Loki straightened his back not to show any weakness. The other prince chuckled, “he is tiny father, why do we need him?”

Laufey had put his elbow on the armrest and his chin rested on the palm of his hand as he watched his two sons. A small smile rested on his lips.

“He may not look like much but believe me Byleist he is worth the trouble. He is a smart one and fast, I am sure he can lead us back to glory.”

Loki hissed at the king but Laufey only grinned in response. Byleist frowned, “I can do that too, father. I am a true Jotun unlike this thing here; he is only a Halfling, both in body and blood.”

Loki glanced at his half-brother, “I agree, let him lead you and give me back my real brother.” Laufey laughed, “oh Loki you are enjoyable silly.”

The prince scowled, “silly?”

“I will keep Thor as long as you fight me, as soon as you accept I will let him swim free. He is of no use to me besides angering Odin and I do not want a war, even if it may look like it.”

Loki bit his lip and looked down on the floor, the stupid merman had him in the palm of his hand and he didn’t like that. Taking a deep breath he looked up to Laufey, “if you let my brother go, and I mean Thor with that,” Loki clarified, glancing at Byleist.

“Then I vow on my honour that I will stay unless you or anyone associated with you tries to harm me.”

The king looked a little surprised before he smiled, “those terms sound acceptable. I vow on my crown that you are under my protection and I will not let harm come to you.” Loki nodded but he didn’t feel reassured and judging by the look Byleist gave him he wasn’t more protected by the vow then he had been before.

The Jotun prince eyed him with an angry look and Loki was sure that he would do everything to sabotage him and his new station. Loki licked his lips, “I want to see Thor.”

The king didn’t look pleased at that but he waved his hand at his soldiers, “bring the princess.” Loki did actually chuckle at that but he hid it behind a cough.

Two guards brought Thor and Loki shot towards him wrapping his arms around his brother’s neck. Thor let out a shout as he realized who was hugging him. Byleist scoffed but Laufey actually smiled.

Thor put a hand on the back of Loki’s neck and put their foreheads together, “what are you doing here Loki?” The second prince closed his eyes briefly, “apparently saving you, you dumbass.” Thor let go and nodded, “I am sorry, I should have listened to you.”

The water between them was quite uncomfortable and Loki patted Thor’s shoulder awkwardly, “it is alright that is way they call me the smart one.” Byleist snorted, “yeah that is why you got captured isn’t it?”

Loki blushed and Thor turned around to growl at the Jotun but the prince remained unimpressed. Laufey got up from his throne and swam down to the princes smiling like a shark.

“Well your brother bargained for your freedom Odinson, which means you will now depart, say your farewells and be gone.”

Thor hissed at the king, “I will not leave my brother with you monsters.” To underline his words he grabbed Loki’s arm who winced at the touch. Loki sighed and gently pried Thor’s fingers from his arm, “Thor you need to go I can handle this. I can handle him.”

Loki glanced at Laufey as he spoke and Thor growled again, “I cannot leave you.” The second prince chuckled, “you can and you will, tell mother I love her.”

The look on Thor’s face was almost as bad as Loki felt and watching his brother get dragged away shouting and calling after him made his stomach clench. He didn’t want to stay, but he had to.

Laufey smiled and put a hand on Loki’s shoulder, “don’t worry son, you will love it here.” Byleist glared at Loki but he ignored it as he sighed, “I am not your son Laufey.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony flipped the pancake and Peter cheered for him as he made it this time without throwing the food on the floor. They were quite content with each other and while Tony knew that Peter was still mourning his home he pretend everything was fine and Peter knew that Tony had some troubles with himself but to keep the peace he also pretend to not notice.

It was a nice but fragile state they were enjoying but both were too scared and selfish to change that. Tony placed the pancake in front of Peter who smiled at him, “here only for you with lots of love.”

Peter chuckled, “you are just too scared to try the first one yourself.” Tony put a hand over his chest, “oh such mistrust, that hurt young man.” The merman chuckled and put a generous amount of syrup on top of the pancake while Tony poured batter into the pan.

The boy put the first piece in his mouth and it tasted really good actually. Smiling he watched the human cook and chuckled as Tony tried to flip his pancake but it was stuck inside the pan so he had to scratch it off and try again.

“Don’t laugh this is not as easy as it looks.”

Peter hid his grin, “I didn’t say anything. I am just eating.” Tony scoffed and made another pancake without destroying it this time, “yeah just eating my ass.” The boy laughed and finished his breakfast but stayed until Tony was finished.

“Alright Pete I have to work today, are you good on your own?”

Peter looked around and nodded, ignoring the weird feeling inside of him; he didn’t want Tony to go away.

“Sure I will just watch some TV and try to understand you humans a bit more.”

Tony laughed and walked up to the stairs, “well good luck with that boy, well be good and if you need something ask Jarvis or have him call me.” Peter nodded and watched Tony leave.

He sighed before he slid from the stool he had been sitting on and into the wheelchair. The boy rolled in front of the TV but he didn’t turn it on, his mind was still with Tony.

“Jarvis?”

“Yes Master Peter?”

The boy licked his lips, “can…can you explain to me how humans romance each other?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony paced around in his lab trying to reason with his AI. Why in hell did he make him that smart and human? Well the answer to that was easy, he didn’t, he made Jarvis learning and now the AI did just that. He learned and adapted and he apparently had developed a sense for right and wrong.

“Jarvis I want to be with the boy but it will never work if we remain different species. He has a tail for goodness sake.”

“Sir, Master Peter trusts you even after all that happened, if you would use him to alter him into a human…I am unable to properly predict his reaction.”

Tony took an angry sip from his coffee, “I cannot either but that won’t matter Jarv if we can be together in the end, I am sure of that.” The AI didn’t respond and Tony sat his mug down with a sigh.

“Jarvis run the simulation and call Doctor Banner; I need his opinion on that.”

“Yes Sir.”

Tony briefly closed his eyes as he heard the cold, almost hurt tone in Jarvis voice. The AI liked Peter and Tony could understand his hesitation. What Hydra did to the boy was wrong and disgusting but it was not like Tony planned to put the boy into a fish tank and study him.

It wasn’t his intention to confine him in any way.

When Tony talked to Bruce, the man was of course just as worried as Jarvis was but he was easier to convince to help him since he was just as curious as Tony was. Together they would be easily be able to find a solution and get fast results.

Tony had called Pepper so that Bruce would be transferred to his place and be able to work with Tony in his lab and unsurprisingly she was not amused. Pepper had argued that it was not fair that Tony called dips on one of the greatest scientists currently alive but Tony had assured her that this would only for a few weeks, or months at most.

In the end Pepper had allowed it and Bruce had agreed to come over tomorrow. Tony was rather satisfied with himself.

“Sir it is almost dinnertime and Master Peter is asking if you would join him for dinner.”

Tony glanced at the clock surprised how the time had passed so quickly. With a yawn he stretched his back and got up from his seat, “uh yeah I guess I will.” His legs were stiff from sitting all day and he groaned as he took the first steps towards the exit.

As soon as Tony entered the living room he spotted Peter sitting on the couch with a weirdly guilty expression. With a slight frown he walked up to the boy, “hey Pete what you’ve been up to?”

“Nothing.”

The answer shot out of the boy and he had to raise an eyebrow at that because there was no way that this didn’t sound suspicious. Maybe he would ask Jarvis later what he had been doing, but seeing that Peter was technically a teenager he wasn’t so sure he wanted to know.

“So you hungry?”

Peter nodded eagerly, “yes very but I didn’t want to eat without you.” Tony smiled fondly at him; the boy was just too cute. The genius walked into the kitchen, “that is so nice of you. What do you want to eat, pizza? Chinese or did we ever try Indian food? We should start off with something not too spicy though.”

Peter smiled but shook his head, “ah I would rather go for some fish and maybe some crab, my stomach always feels weird when I eat too much of your human food.”

Tony nodded, “alright then fish for you and some delicious pizza for me. Jarvis, order some please.” The AI responded in an amused voice, “I will Sir.” Peter slipped from the couch into the wheelchair and rolled up to the kitchen where he pulled himself up to sit in a stool.

Tony wondered if Peter ever got tired of that but the boy never complained. Suddenly Tony got a weird feeling in his chest, “hey Peter…are you alright? I mean if you weren’t feeling good or depressed you would tell me, am I right?”

The merman hesitated before he slowly nodded, “I-I would Mr Stark.” Tony chuckled, “Mr Stark again huh? Well you are a lousy liar boy.” He turned to the fridge and pulled out some fish slicing it into bite sized bits and placing them on a plate in front of Peter.

“I…didn’t lie.”

The genius chuckled, “and again here you go.” Peter looked down on his hands looking only a little guilty, “it is…not easy to talk about those things.” Tony opened the fridge again and pulled out some crab meat to also put it on the plate.

“I know, believe me I know, but you have to or it will slowly devour you. I have been there, so I would know.”

Peter slowly nodded but he didn’t look up so Tony just pushed the plate a little closer to the boy, “eat and how about we change the topic? Would you like to take a swim?”

The boy picked up a piece of crab chewing it slowly before swallowing, “ah how do you mean that?” Tony smiled at him, “well I haven’t used my yacht for some time so I would like to take it for a cruise.”

Peter suddenly seemed very happy and nodded picking up a piece of fish before almost swallowing it whole, “I would love to stretch my fins a little, I love your pool but it is just so tiny.” Tony gave him a dry look, “compared to the ocean every pool is tiny.”

The boy laughed and Tony relaxed as the doorbell rang and the pizza Jarvis had ordered arrived.

Once both of them were full they went down to the cove and while Tony readied his yacht Peter jumped into the water. This time the man didn’t have any fears that the boy wouldn’t return since Peter couldn’t go anywhere else.

With a slight wince at his thoughts Tony started the yacht and drove her out of the cove and onto the open sea.

The waters were calm that night and the starry sky clear and beautiful. Far away from the shore, far enough so he wouldn’t see the lights of his house anymore Tony killed the engine and threw the anchor into the water.

A warm breeze was blowing over the water and he smiled as he took a seat in his chair leaning back to look at the sky. It was calming and he enjoyed the silence until he heard a splash.

“Tony?”

“I am here darling, how is the water?”

His smile was growing as he heard the boy laugh in delight.

“It is wonderful I missed this so much!”

Tony put an arm behind his back and sighed in content, “good to hear, but you know you can go out and swim whenever you like.” To his surprise Peter jumped out of the water and grabbed railing of the yacht to look at the human.

“Do you mean that?”

Tony flinched, “ah yes I mean you are not my prisoner you are more like my…roommate I guess.” Peter looked a little sad suddenly but hid it quickly behind a smile, “ah of course silly of me to assume you would want to keep me up there.”

The human stood and walked over to Peter, “you are a free man, merman and I have no right to keep you from going where you want to.” The boy smiled but there was still sadness in his eyes and Tony failed to understand why.

Did he actually want Tony to lock him up? Why was he acting so strange? The boy licked his lips and Tony thought about tasting them once again.

“I have something for you.”

The human smiled, “well thank you, what have you got?” Peter blushed and flicked his tail throwing something up into the air. The boy caught it and offered it to Tony.

“It is not much but uh I, you let me stay at your place and I eat you food so…I wanted to get you something.”

Tony gaped at the small but very valuable stone in Peter’s hand. If he was correct and he of course was the stone was a rough emerald.

Tony was rich, no question but even for someone like him it was rare to receive a present like that. He swallowed and picked up the emerald, “Peter this…wow I didn’t think…thank you.”

Peter blushed and looked away, “I know red is more your colour but I couldn’t find a red one this time.” Tony blinked, this time? Did he find some before and gave them to someone else or kept them?

“Ah Peter I like it and I am very grateful, but do you know what that is?”

Peter shrugged, “it is a gem isn’t it? Not cut though so it is a little ugly but I thought maybe you could make something out of it. We sometimes make jewellery out of them or decorate our furniture with it you seen it in the throne cave.”

Tony nodded slowly, “you ah you are talking very casually about that. Are those gems to any value to your people?” The boy blushed and looked uneasy, “like I said I know it isn’t much and it is so small, I am sorry I knew it wouldn’t impress you.”

The human let out a laugh, “Peter that is…alright I am impressed, to humans emeralds are one of the most expensive gems we have and people would kill to get their hands on this one. I mean it is almost the size of a cherry.”

Peter’s features lit up, “so you truly like it?” Tony leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on the merman’s lips, “of course I do you could have given me the shell of an oyster and I would have loved it.”

The merman blushed heavily and let go of the railing to slip back into the water. Tony blinked but was sure he heard him giggle before the water swallowed him.

Tony grinned like a fool as he took his seat again, holding the emerald tightly in his hand and looking up to the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading   
> let me know what you think in the comments below


	15. Warm waters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter  
> Since I write most of that fic at work it gets a little irregular with writing at time so I am sorry if it takes me sometimes a little longer to update.  
> Please enjoy

Loki swallowed staring at the Jotuns who came to see their lost prince, it was weird and he felt uncomfortable. Laufey was next to him while Byleist was on his father’s other side grinning like a shark.

The little prince wore a mask of indifference since he didn’t mind the people; he only hated his sire and maybe his half-brother. He wasn’t sure what his purpose was or would be here but he had a bad feeling about all of this.

Laufey leaned down to him and whispered, “smile son, these are your people now.” Loki scoffed glancing at the giant merman, “these are your people, they will never accept me and I will never be like them.” The King knitted his eyebrows together a displeased look on his face.

Loki ignored him looking around the people, suddenly he noticed something, “Laufey, there are no mermaids.” The King chuckled and put a heavy hand on the boy’s shoulder, “oh there is much for you to learn boy.”

The King raised a hand the quiet whispers of his people stopped as everyone focused on him. Laufey smiled and pushed Loki in front of him, placing both hands on his shoulders. Loki wanted to squirm away but he didn’t dare to do so.

“Dear people, I am proud to be finally able to introduce you to my once lost but now found son Loki. Even if he may not look like it, he is of my blood and thus a prince of Jotunheim. He shall help us to bring us back to glory and I hope you will all learn to accept him as part of us.”

Loki looked around and the people stared at him in silence, no one cheered or even acted like they heard the King’s words. The prince sighed internally but then the first Jotun began to bow and soon all of them followed suit. Loki blinked and looked up to his sire, who had a pleased smile on his face.

“Very well,” Loki heard him mutter and his hands disappeared from his shoulders as he sat down in his throne. The prince now floated awkwardly in the water unsure of what to do. He caught a glimpse of Byleist who again glared at him.

“Loki you need to greet them.”

The small merman turned around to look at his sire and swallowed glancing down at the Jotuns. Taking a deep breath he spoke, “ah please rise I ah I hope I will be able to help you…reach your goal.” It was not his most eloquent speech and he knew but it would suffice.

The people rose and slowly left the throne room so Loki was able to let go of his forced calmness. He turned to Laufey, “you have some explaining to do old man, why am I here and why are there no females?”

Byleist groaned and took the seat next to his father. To Loki’s surprise this earned him an angry look from Laufey but the King didn’t say anything to his oldest son. He focused on Loki again.

“We have females Loki, but we are different from the Aesir. Our females are very…passionate.”

Loki raised an eyebrow at that, “what do you mean with that?” Byleist grinned at his little brother and raised his arm to show him something, “see that scar little one? The last time I met with one of them she bit me in the heat of passion.”

The boy raised both eyebrows at that. Laufey chuckled at his expression, “mermaids are fierce and hard to handle, we love them but only few are able to control their desires. My mate, Farbauti was one of them, which is why she was one of the few females to wander among us.”

Again he looked at Byleist angrily; Loki guessed he didn’t like the prince sitting in his wife’s chair. Byleist ignored his look and Loki wondered if the prince was even more stupid than Thor.

“Our mermaids live in their own caves where they are left in peace; once in a while one of them emerges to hunt, both for food and a mate.”

Peter had told Loki that some of the humans believed that mermaids were vicious monsters that would drown and devour humans, that was probably the origin of that believe.

“We will visit them and maybe even find a mate for you my son.”

Byleist scoffed, “they will rip him apart father, he is too small and fragile to take them, they will think him food.” Loki glared at his half-brother, oh he really despised him. Not that he wanted to meet those vicious females but he would also not back down this easily.

He had handled females before and he could handle them again.

Laufey watched him with a weird expression that Loki was unable to decipher. In the end the King didn’t say anything else about that topic but waved at the guards who guided Loki to his new cave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony never wanted to be an artist for a reason, he sucked at everything artsy, so when he took the emerald from Peter down to his lab he was unsure of what to do with it since he feared that he would either destroy or ruin the gem.

In the end he just wrapped some wires around it and made a loop so he could put it on a nice silver chain and wear it around his neck. It was not a masterpiece but he liked it and since it was a present he wanted to honour it.

The genius was once again staring at the numbers of the simulation he had had Jarvis run as a knock sounded from the glass door. Tony looked up and smiled as he spotted Bruce, “Jarv let him in.”

The door slid open and Bruce walked in smiling at Tony, “hello Tony, good to see you.” Tony smiled and gave the other a quick pat on the shoulder, “hey Bruce, good to see you too, can we start?” The other man nodded eagerly, “yes uh by the way I saw Peter upstairs, he looks good, how is he doing?”

Again Tony felt a little jealous but he forced the smile to remain on his face, “he is very well we talked, watched movies, made out a little.” The older man blushed and Tony smirked internally, yes he would clarify to everyone that Peter was his.

“You ah you made out with a boy?”

“Well he is an adult by his people’s standards.”

Bruce frowned a little at that, “well if he is practically an adult I guess…well we should focus on work here.” Tony nodded and eagerly showed him the numbers.

Tony knew that Bruce’s unease was not completely gone but he take what he would get. The most important thing now was getting him to not tell Pepper anything, she would be furious even though she probably wouldn’t be surprised.

Making out with a merman would still be not the worst she caught him doing. A shiver went down his spine as he remembered his time in Romania. He shook his head, oh Carina he would never be able to forget her.

Bruce looked at the simulations and then at Tony, his brows were knitted together and it almost looked like had only one eyebrow at all. The Doctor tilted his head, “am I right to assume that you are intending to change Peter into a human?”

Tony shrugged, “he cannot go home, can he? So why not make him more comfortable?” Bruce ran a hand through his hair, “did you ask him if he wants that?” The genius turned around so the man wouldn’t see his expression, “it is intended as a surprise. I don’t want him to feel like an experiment or worse feel like he is back with Hydra again.”

Bruce nodded in understanding and both men focused on the work until the Doctor spoke up again, “what if he doesn’t want to be a human?” Tony froze his fingers turning white as he was holding a screwdriver way too tight. Would Peter say no to this?

“Then I will think of something else, come on Bruce let us get started Pepper is already angry that I got you here, I don’t want her to get even angrier when we might take longer than expected.”

Bruce chuckled and together they got to work but the question the other man asked him, never really left Tony’s head. Would Peter say no? Would he not want to be with him? Tony bit his lip and tried to focus on what the other man was saying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter blushed heavily as he stared at the tablet in his hand. Surprisingly enough it had been really easy for him to get a hang of this thing. It was rather intuitive.

The AI had suggested that Peter would do his research on a tablet rather than on a large monitor so he wouldn’t embarrass himself in front of Tony or other potential guests. Peter was really glad that Jarvis knew such things and had taken the advice happily.

So now he was lying on the sand at the pool’s beach, his tail lazily moving around in the water while his eyes were focused on the video he was watching. The boy swallowed, “ah Jarvis is this really ah how human intercourse looks like?”

The AI had no speakers outside of the house and Peter had closed the glass doors so potential sounds would not be heard from the inside, so the AI spoke to him directly through the tablet. Another suggestion from Jarvis.

“This is what my research has found, Master Peter, what is the matter with it?”

Peter swallowed as he watched the older man pushing down the younger, smaller male onto the bed to, what seemed to him, violently pound into him. From what the merman could tell their reproduction organs were quite similar to his and he was glad about that but what the humans did to each other seemed alien to him, but not uninteresting.

“It seems…violent,” the boy said unsure of what to think of that. The AI stopped the video and another popped open showing to men who touched and kissed each other what looked rather lovingly. Peter smiled without noticing, “ah thank you that seems…less painful.”

“You are welcome Master Peter.”

The boy hummed and watched with fascination as the two men rubbed their organs against each other, moaning loudly. Peter felt heat pool inside his stomach. It was a pleasant feeling but he was unsure of what to make of it.

Licking his lips he watched closely as the man on top covered his fingers in some clear fluid to caress the other man’s member and wandering even lower. Peter bit his lip as he pushed one of his fingers in and the man arched his back in obvious pleasure.

“Master Peter, Mr Stark is leaving the laboratory, maybe you want to turn this off.”

Peter let out a disappointed sound and closed the videos going back to that brilliant website called Wikipedia. It had all the information one could dream of and since Peter was unable to physically visit the human archives, library that’s what Jarvis called them, this was a good enough solution for him.

Peter sighed, “Loki would have loved this.”

“What did you say?”

The boy shrieked and dropped the tablet into the water. Tony frowned and Peter felt dread climb up his spine. Slowly he turned to the human, “I am so sorry, you scared me, I-I didn’t drop it on purpose.”

Quickly he picked the device up and handed it to Tony with a sheepish look. The genius took it, looking more confused than angry but Peter didn’t look at him, he stared at his hands guilty about destroying Tony’s property.

“I am sure you didn’t, sorry for scaring you kid, I ah I wanted to ask you if you would care for lunch.”

Peter brushed his dry hair back and nodded, “sure I ah I am quite hungry actually.” Tony smiled and nodded, “alright then join us; Bruce can actually cook so let’s enjoy it.” The boy smiled and made his way over to the wheelchair so he could follow after the human.

Bruce smiled at Peter from the kitchen and pointed at the dinner table. Normally Tony and Peter would eat either at the kitchen counter or at the coffee table in front of the TV which was why Peter looked at Tony with a questioning look.

The man smiled and pulled a chair back and Peter slipped on it.

“Bruce insisted we eat like civilized people.”

Peter laughed at that and Tony grinned.

Bruce soon brought the food and the three sat down to eat, it was kind of weird for Peter but rather close to what he was used to from home. Tony and Bruce chatted over things Peter didn’t understand and probably didn’t want to understand.

They had a nice dinner though Peter once again stuck to his fish while the others enjoyed something that smelled completely alien to him.

“So Peter, how do you like your stay with Tony?”

The boy looked up and looked at the genius who had breadcrumbs everywhere in his beard, it looked kind of cute. Peter smiled at Bruce, “I like it, we have a lot of fun and I really like to learn about your species.”

Bruce smiled at that, “good to hear, I like that you are so eager to learn new things.”  Peter nodded and chewed on a clam, he loved the white flesh.

“Back at ho…where I grew up, we only tell each other our history, we don’t write much down and so a lot is lost once it is forgotten. I always wanted to know more, but I rarely got the chance to.”

Both men looked at him while they listened so he could clearly see the sad look in Bruce’s eyes and the guilty look on Tony’s face as he corrected himself. The sea was not his home anymore and it would never be again.

All he could do now was to hope that Tony would never tire of him. Well Peter had to make sure the human wouldn’t tire of him. They talked a little and Peter told him about the archives and how he had met the prince there for the first time, but his heart ached as he thought of Loki and quickly changed the topic.

The men listened until they had to go back to work and Peter moved to the couch to watch one of his shows. He still had that fascination for wedding shows but he also grew more and more fond of the various documentations of the land animals.

Chuckling he watched a group of giraffes gallop over the screen, “Jarvis, is this real or fiction? I cannot imagine that these creatures really exist.” The AI sounded rather amused about that question, “I can assure you Master Peter, that these are indeed real and existing.” 

Peter let out a surprised sound and continued watching the documentation, “it appears to me that there are a lot of predators out in the wilderness, how do humans survive out there?”

Again the AI replied but this time he sounded more serious, “most predators do not attack humans unless provoked, they don’t fit their normal pray so they try to avoid humans. Lions and tigers have been reported to attack humans though but that is mostly due to the fact that they had negative encounters with them and, or the humans invaded their territory.”

Peter tilted his head as he watched a pride of lions, “they look fluffy, I wonder what they feel like.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki had always been sure that the Jotun were savages and being with them didn’t change his opinion much. Now he thought that most of them were savages, most of all his half-brother.

Byleist was loud, strong and stupid and whenever Loki had to face him he either cringed or sighed. It didn’t help that his sire seemed to have the same reaction to him.

Loki didn’t have much in common with Laufey but they both apparently thought that the prince was an idiot and slowly Loki began to understand why the King had tried so hard to get his hands on Loki. In direct comparison, Loki was indeed the better son if only for his less bash demeanour.

True to his word the second prince didn’t try to escape but since he was locked up constantly he wasn’t able to do much else besides cursing at the walls. After three days, Loki had enough.

“You want me to meet your people but you keep me locked up, that is not going to work!”

Laufey looked at his son with a calculating expression. They were seated at a stone table as their food was served; Byleist as always was late. The King looked down at his small son, “you really think I would let you roam free? I am sorry but I don’t believe that if you got the chance you wouldn’t try to run back to your other family.”

Loki sighed, “yeah maybe I would try but I am not asking for that, I just don’t want to be locked up anymore. Put someone in charge to watch me or something but please let me get some fresh water.”

The King seemed to think about it but before he got the chance to answer, his son swam into the cave and took his seat at the table, “good day father and runt.” Loki hissed at him but didn’t reply, it was not the first time he was called that by his half-brother.

Laufey shot his son a look but didn’t say anything, Loki didn’t know why he was disappointed by that. The King turned back to his younger offspring, “I will let you roam our caves with proper guidance and protection. Some of our people are still wary and suspicious because of your upbringing.”

Loki smiled, finally a little freedom. He didn’t notice the slight frown in Laufey’s face as he watched his youngest features lit up.

Byleist, used to be the solemn receiver of his father’s attention, growled, “this is a bad idea, he will get killed if you let him go.” Laufey and Loki sighed, but it was the King who addressed his son, “do not question my decisions Byleist, I don’t need to justify my actions to you.”

The prince looked like he had been slapped before glaring at Loki who returned his look with absolute impassiveness. It only served to make the prince more furious and Loki knew that he had now made a real enemy out of his half-brother.

After the meal, Loki only ate about a third of what the two giants devoured, he was allowed to explore the royal caves freely. Well freely meant that two guards followed him, always keeping him in arms reach.

The boy ignored them and took in as much as he could from his surroundings. It was funny how many of the servants stopped whatever they were doing, to stare at the colourful merman.

Loki smiled at them, but passed without saying a word. After a while one of the guards swam into his way, “you need to stop here, my prince.” The smaller merman sighed, “and why must I stop?”

The guard pointed at the exit he had been heading to, “this is the exit of the royal caves, behind them the common folk dwells and the King said you are not allowed to meet them just yet.”

Loki groaned, “alright, lets head back. Do your people have archives?” The guard frowned in confusion, “archives? What for, my prince?” Alright those people were savages.

“To preserve the history of your people for example or for educating the young.”

The Guards exchanged a look and shrugged, “well we have the ancient temple there is knowledge for those who seek it.” Loki raised an eyebrow at that but nevertheless ordered them to get him there. He was all if not curious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter was lying on the bottom of his pool, staring at the surface. The video or porn, how the humans called it, that Jarvis had shown him didn’t leave his head. The sounds and expressions were stuck in his head and he just kept wondering about it.

He felt the heat stir inside him and his right hand gently moved down his tail. The scales felt normal and smooth under his fingers but it was not what he was searching for. He let his fingers roam until he found the slight dent in his tail and began to caress it with the tips of his fingers.

A gasp escaped him and he began to curl up into himself but he didn’t stop touching. Slowly as he kept massaging the spot, it began to open up and even slower his long penis like organ emerged.

It was the first time he did that and he was quite unsure how to handle this…hard on? If he remembered correctly that was the term the humans used.

He gently stroke the organ and noticed how a thin oil coat appeared on it, which made the touching much more pleasant. Peter closed his eyes and let out a hum as the pleasure was building up inside of him.

The boy rolled around the ground stroking himself faster and faster until he rolled on his back arching it and groaning loudly. He spilled his seed and for an awkwardly long moment it floated in the water before it slowly sank down coating his tail in it.

Peter shook his head hoping to clear his head a little and sat up, he could hear steps.

“Kid?”

Oh shit.

Peter swam towards the rim and shot out of the water but pressed his lower half against the wall of the pool. His penis was still slightly erect and didn’t yet retreat inside his body again. That was probably one of the reasons why Jarvis had advised him not to watch the porn on the big screen.

“Ah yes Mr. Stark what is up?”

The human walked up to the pool and looked at the boy with concern, “apparently you. Jarvis told me that you heart rate increased up to a concerning level. So are you alright?”

Peter nodded, “ah yeah, yeah, yeah I-I just…I just had a nightmare, that’s it only a nightmare.” Tony nodded slowly, “ah alright I uh guess you are fine now?”

The merman nodded hoping his face didn’t look as flushed as it felt. The human smiled and walked away and a moment too long Peter focused on his ass that was only covered in some tight fitting boxers.

The boy swallowed and dived down again, cursing internally as he felt his little Peter growing hard again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony closed the door to the patio letting out a long breath, “Jarvis, I think he…well you don’t need to alert my anymore when his heart rate rises up to that level.”

“As you wish Sir.”

The genius scratched his goatee and shook his head, “so what did he do on that tablet before he dropped it?” The AI replied in a neutral voice, “I am sorry Sir but I promised not to tell, he also used the private mode for surfing.”

“Which you suggested to him I presume?”

“He asked for advice and I provided him with it.”

Tony laughed and walked back to his room shaking his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is technically a Peter/Tony fic but please tell me if you like the Loki parts or if and what you dont like about it.   
> Now let us all ask the question is merman/human sex possible? Well I dont know but we will see I guess.   
> See you next chapter   
> Thanks for reading


	16. Tales and teeth

As it turned out the temple was quite beautiful and Loki was really surprised by that. It was built into one of the caves but there was a small circular hole in the ceiling that allowed light from above to shine in.

In the middle of the cave, carved out of white stone stood, what Loki presumed was some kind of altar, which was shaped like a bowl.

The walls of the cave were painted similar to Frigga’s cave with scenes from Jotun history. Loki swam up to them and thankfully his guards stayed at the entrance letting him have a little bit of privacy. The prince let his eyes roam over the pictures taking everything he could in.

The paintings showed the Jotun and a King with a crown similar to Laufey’s and to his surprise, it showed humans. The mermen were portrayed with spears and other weapons attacking ships and drowning people, gathering what looked like treasures. 

Loki moved further feeling dread rising inside him, so Laufey’s people were actively hunting humans, killing them for their treasures, it made him sick. Biting his lip he looked at the next painting.

It showed two mermen fighting, one was Jotun and clearly larger than the other who had a black tail and silver fins. Loki stared at the scene unsure what to make of it.

“This was the moment the Aesir doomed our people.”

Loki flinched and turned around facing his Sire. How in the world was a guy that big so sneaky? The smaller merman swallowed and turned around to look at the picture again, “tell me what happened.”

Laufey smiled and swam back to the beginning, “in the old and glorious times your great grandfather ruled over the seas. The humans feared us and prayed to their gods so they would protect them from us but it of course didn’t help. Our people were strong back then, proud and fearless. Together with our mermaids we attacked the humans and killed so many that the waters turned red.”

Loki didn’t like how happy his sire sounded but he didn’t dare to speak up.

“Their treasures were ours and we took what we wanted but then that young and stupid Aesir Bor came and ruined everything. We were at war and even though my father managed to kill Bor his son just picked up where he had left.”

Loki blinked and looked at the now grim looking King, “Odin fought against you?” Laufey nodded, “yes he was very young and not yet ready to be a king but he fought my father and killed him.”

The bitterness in his voice told Loki that there was more to it than just a dead father, he should find out what it was. He remembered Odin calling Laufey and old friend but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. The prince looked at his Sire, “you, did you fight Odin?”

Laufey shook his head, “not really, after my father died I saw the damage this war brought to my people, we had barely any females left and our warriors were tired. I surrendered well knowing that one day I would take my revenge on him and the day he took that golden princess as his queen I knew I would have it.”

They swam further down to look at the walls. Loki expected more bloodshed or a painting of Laufey stealing the egg from Frigga but to his surprise it showed him and, what he presumed to be, a mermaid.

The two were floating next to each other holding a baby in their arms, it was probably Byleist. Loki blinked and looked at Laufey waiting for his explanation.

“I forgot my revenge when I met Farbauti though; she was my light, my ocean and all I could ever ask for.”

Loki swallowed as he heard the love entwined with sadness in his voice, he really loved her.

“She gave me Byleist and I thought this would be the happiest day of our lives, yet.”

The King closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, his gills flared and only slowly settled again.

“She died and left me behind. You know little one, the bad thing about losing someone is not the losing part, it is being left behind what is hart to deal with.”

Loki believed that without questioning and waited for the King to go on with his story but Laufey just stared at the picture of the two Jotun for such a long time, Loki almost believed he had lost him to his memories.

“Well when I lost her I knew that I needed to get my revenge on Odin, he deserved it and I deserved it, too.”

That statement was weird and Loki really didn’t understand what he meant.

“So you stole one of my mother’s eggs.”

The grin on Laufey’s face was so unsettling Loki actually swam back a few inches to get out of his sire’s arms reach. The King didn’t move but his grin stayed.

“Oh I did more than that, boy. I snuck into Asgard more than once and when I found out that your mother was planning to have another child I waited for her to lay the eggs. Once she had put them down in her cave I came to her and announced my plans but she tried to fight me,” he scoffed.

“Foolish woman, I put her in her place and took a handful of eggs, destroying the rest and fled home.”

Loki stared at him in horror and disbelieve. He destroyed his mother’s eggs? That was one of the worst crimes one could do down here, it was unbelievable and most cruel.

“Oh gods,” it was only a whisper but Laufey heard it and laughed.

“The gods have left me the day they took Farbauti boy, and they will never return.”

Loki flinched away but Laufey was quick as he shot forward grabbing his wrist and pulling him close so his nose almost touched the boy’s.

“I fertilized the eggs and cared for them, no one knew but once you hatched and I saw how weak you were I was so enraged that I wanted to kill you on the spot. I went through all that trouble to receive a weak little guppy while I wanted a shark, so I put you here.”

Loki yelped as he was pulled towards the altar. Laufey pointed at the bowl shaped stone and now Loki saw that the bottom was filled with pearl white sand. He would have thought it beautiful if he weren’t so terrified at the moment.

“An offering for any god who cared to listen, I wanted you to die, just like I wanted Odin to die, but once again fate refused me. He came and we fought while his blasted wife took you and fed you her blood. I am still sure she is a witch your mother.”

Laufey shook his head with a humourless laugh and threw the boy towards the altar. Loki’s stomach collided with the smooth stone and his face almost hit the sand.

“Odin took you this day but I took his eye and now I got you back to follow the fate I have designed for you.”

Loki wanted to push himself off the bowl but Laufey placed a huge hand between his shoulder blades pushing him down again.

“You are mine and I will use you to reach my goal no matter what you want or what it will cost you, I went through too much to not win and if you fail me this is where I will place your head,” the chuckle let Loki shiver.

“Maybe your mother will find you again when I do. I still remember her screams you know, they sounded like music to me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter was unable to look Tony in the eyes for two whole days. Almost being caught touching himself was embarrassing enough for the boy to swear to himself never to do it again.

He lied, of course.

Only moments after Tony had left him he had taken care of his erection and had even watched a little fascinated as the guppies had swarmed out to eat his spent. It was fascinating and disgusting all the same.

The day after he did it again, with less hesitation but with more care as to not get too lost in the sensations, so he would hear if Tony would come to him again. The day after that he did it again and he was sure Tony knew what was up but luckily he didn’t say anything.

Right now they were sitting on the beach and staring at the waves. Tony hadn’t been in the mood to take his yacht for a drive but Peter did convince him to come down with him to the beach.

The older man now sat in a ridiculously looking pair of bathing trunks; they were blue with pink flowers, on the wet sand as the waves pushed against them. Peter was lying on his stomach drawing shapes into the sand with his finger.

“You happy Peter?”

The boy stopped, sighed and erased his drawings with his hand, “I am…content. Why do you ask?” Tony sighed and looked at the boy, following his tail with his eyes, wanting to touch it so much but not daring to.

“Because your happiness is important to me, how many times do I have to say it until you believe me?”

Peter rolled on his back and sat up, pulling his tail to his chest and hugging it, “and I always give you an honest answer and still you don’t believe me.”

Tony watched him, the light of the setting sun looked beautiful on him, it let his brown curls shine.

“You lost your home Peter.”

“Oh geez and here I almost forgot about that little detail. I know Tony and I am sad about that and I miss my friends and my aunt but I cannot change anything about it. I am banished and that won’t change.”

He looked up to the human with his big brown eyes, oh how Tony loved those eyes. Slowly he reached up and cupped Peter’s cheek. The boy leaned into the touch and Tony swallowed.

“I just wondered if we…if we could ever be…more?”

Peter knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, he knew enough over humans now to understand what he meant so he didn’t ask about that, instead.

“You are actually wondering about that? We…made out, as your kind puts it. I think we are already more than we were before.”

Tony chuckled and pulled his hand away but Peter quickly snatched it and held him in place, his gaze was getting a little more intense. The human froze and studied his expression.

“Peter I…we are so different and I don’t know if we can make it work.”

The merman sighed and took Tony’s hand off his cheek but only to place a gentle kiss on his knuckles, he had seen that in a movie too, before placing it on his heart.

“Tony I ah I…we both know that I am kind of stuck with you but honestly, you are the best person I could be stuck with, so yeah let us be more.”

The genius seemed to have to take a while until he got what Peter was saying. It was comical how he was blinking at the boy until he jumped to his feet and lifted him off the ground.

Peter yelped but giggled as he was carried to the elevator that would lead them straight up to the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki was sure that Byleist was planning to kill him as he stared at the prince from across the cave. Laufey was holding court and was sitting on his throne while Loki had to take Farbauti’s.

The young merman didn’t feel comfortable with it but there was no way he could talk back against his Sire. Byleist was left floating on the far end of the cave since he was not invited to participate.

The prince was seriously pissed off to be casted aside by his father and Loki knew this wasn’t going to end well for him. However he tried to focus on the people who brought their problems forward to the King.

It mostly weren’t big issues only some trouble over presumably stolen goods or arguments that just needed a third party to settle things before they escalated. Loki was surprised just how peaceful the Jotuns were.

Of course Odin had him and Thor sit with him doing the same at home but the Aesir had a lot more issues to take care of it seemed. There had been more attacks since they liked to intoxicate themselves with potions and foods, so they were just overall more aggressive.

Loki was confused by that. The Jotun were bigger, fiercer and overall more like predators and he had been taught that they were the more aggressive kind of merfolk, had he been lied to?

Laufey glanced at him and made a motion to halt the next person so he could talk to his son.

“What bothers you Loki?”

The prince licked his lips, “I am confused, your people, they…seem so peaceful. It is unlike everything I learned.”

Laufey chuckled and shook his head, “oh Loki, the winner gets to tell the tale. Odin won this war and so they told his version of our story so of course don’t know the whole truth.”

Loki swallowed and ran a hand through his hair; he had noticed early on that many of the Jotun stared at it with a weird fascination. He didn’t know how to feel about that.

“We can be aggressive you can see that by looking at our females but normally we are only so if provoked. Well we do have a thing for attacking and killing humans I guess.”

He shrugged and waved at the next merman to come forward while Loki sighed and sat back in his seat. This was all so weird.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter was moaning as Tony kissed his throat while he tangled his fingers in the brown locks to pull Peter’s head back. It felt so good.

The human had been confused to what to do with the gills but Peter just told him to leave them alone since they were kind of a weak spot and not in a good way. Tony had of course heeded his advice and concentrated on every other part of the boy’s body.

Peter put his hands on Tony’s back. Once they had been back in the house Tony had carried him into his bedroom and dropped him on the bed. While Peter had made himself comfortable he had shed all of his clothes and the boy had gaped at the first human penis he ever saw in real life.

Tony had chuckled as Peter curiously touched him, eager to find out more about the thick, hard cock his human so proudly presented. Now they were making out again only that Peter had his gorgeous human on top of him.

“Hm Peter you have to tell me where you like to be touched, your body is nothing I am familiar with.”

The boy blushed and caressed Tony’s chest as he straddled his hips. He looked so good, “I ah I think you can touch me like you would touch a human.” Tony chuckled, “right but what with your tail, where is your…you know where are your private parts?”

Peter blushed and sat up a little, making Tony get off him and sitting next to him on the mattress. With the tip of his index finger Peter found the bump again and began to caress the spot.

“Ah here is where my, ah penis is hidden and here,” he said as he flipped over, his face as red as his tail, he placed a hand on the back of his tail. Tony watched as he searched for another bump in a place where he supposed his butt was.

“Here is my…you would probably say ah asshole.”

Tony chuckled and flipped the boy over to take his lips in a gentle and reassuring kiss.

“Peter, don’t worry, we will go at it slowly until we find out how we can make it work, there is a lot of stuff we can do that doesn’t involve penetration, so relax.”

Peter let out a breath and nodded, “thank you, I just assumed that you wanted, well that you wanted to take me.” Tony kissed him again before making a trail of kisses down from his lips, over his throat and chest.

“I want to but only if you feel comfortable, love. You are important to me, remember that.”

Peter nodded and Tony again straddled him but this time his tail as he let the tips of his fingers roam over the red scales. The merman watched and a shiver went through him as Tony brushed the bump that felt weirdly sensitive to the hot touch.

Tony noticed his reaction and circled the bump with his fingers slowly massaging the point until Peter let out a moan and the scales opened up and his hard cock emerged from within.

The human let out a surprised gasp and Peter hid his face behind his hands, suddenly he felt embarrassed again.

“Peter, please look at me.”

The boy opened his eyes to shyly peek at the human. Tony smiled and slowly wrapped his fingers around the cock, “hey are you alright? How do you feel?” Peter swallowed and managed a smile, “I feel…good. What do you think?”

He pointed at his erection and now he could clearly see that there was an evident size difference. Tony was thick and as far as Peter knew from his research of a rather normal size but he was long and thin and it looked kind of weird in his eyes.

Tony slowly began to work his hand up and down Peter’s length and the boy let out a breathy sound as he felt the, this time, not unfamiliar pleasure rush through him. The human let out a pleased sound as Peter arched his back with a needy moan.

Tony chuckled but stopped and stared down at his hand that was still wrapped around Peter’s cock, “are you…is that oil?” Peter opened his eyes and looked at him, once again he blushed.

“Uh yes I ah I produce my own slick, didn’t know that too until recently.”

Tony grinned, “so I was right, I almost caught you masturbating.” Peter groaned and hid his face again behind his hands, “yes, gods I am so embarrassed.” Tony laughed and continued his work on the teen.

Peter moaned again and forgot his embarrassment as he bucked his hips up, pushing into Tony’s fist. For the human it was a beautiful sight and he would cherish that memory for a long time.

“Tony, ah please give me more.”

Tony chuckled and licked over the sensitive tip of Peter’s cock, it tasted like saltwater and…cucumbers? It was a very strange taste but not bad at all.

He sucked on the tip, still working his shaft until Peter was once again begging for more. Once he did, the genius dived down; ignoring the weird oily taste that now accompanied the other tastes and worked his tongue around the shaft.

Peter almost howled and Tony could see how his knuckles turned white as he gripped the sheets tightly to ground himself. The human kept up his work until he got up, wiping his mouth, “are you alright Pete?”

The boy gasped for air, “ah don’t stop, please don’t stop.” Tony laughed, “as you wish, dearest.” He dived down again and Peter let out a loud moan as he spilled his surprisingly warm seed into Tony’s mouth.

With a huff Tony sat up swallowing the semen that tasted weirdly like caviar and wiped his mouth again, grinning down at the boy. Peter tried to catch his breath, his eyes still closed.

“I-I am sorry, I should have warned you.”

Tony chuckled and got off the bed to wash his face in the bathroom, he didn’t want the oil to stick on his skin.

“No big deal, I knew this would happen, how are you, still moist or do you need water?”

Peter swallowed, “I wouldn’t mind a wet towel and something to drink.” Tony walked back soon enough with a towel and a glass of water for the boy. He placed the glass in his hand and put the towel next to Peter so he could roll on it.

Once the boy had finished his drink and taken his wet place, Tony was back on the bed. Peter grinned at him, “now I shall return the favour, come closer Tony.”

Peter sat upright and Tony got on his knees as he moved closer to his face. His cock almost poked at Peters lips now. The boy took him into his eager hands and Tony smirked at him. Peter didn’t notice as the cock was the receiver of his full attention.

Tony groaned as the boy licked his tip of his length and ran his hands through the brown locks. Peter looked up to him before swirling his tongue around the hot tip. Tony hissed at that, “oh shit you ah you did that before, didn’t you?”

Peter chuckled, “no we don’t do that back at…Asgard.” Tony swallowed, “uh hu well go on.” Peter smiled and wetted his lips before slowly taking inch after inch of Tony in his mouth. He liked the strange and foreign taste on his tongue.

Tony looked down on the, no, his merman and smiled, it was a glorious sight and he wished it wouldn’t end. Peter swallowed around his cock and a loud moan escaped his lips. His grip on his hair but he managed to control his desires and not pull or push the boy.

Peter looked up a little warily but continued to suck and work his tongue around the hard flesh, he wasn’t quite sure what he was doing and if it was any good but Tony didn’t stop him so that had to count for something.

The human groaned, “Peter ah please use your hand too.” The merman obliged and took the remaining shaft into his hand and began to suck his earnest drawing moan after moan from the man above.

“Peter I ah I am not going to last longer, pull off if you don’t want to ah oh fuck.”

Peter chuckled and pushed his head down as deep as he could and Tony let out a moan as he came down the boy’s throat. The merman swallowed everything without complain and once he let go of Tony’s cock, the human let himself fall onto the bed next to him.

“Oh and there goes my soul.”

Peter giggled and shifted to lie on his side. He reached for Tony and pulled him up against his chest chuckling into his neck. The human let out a content sigh and put his hand on top of Peters, “did you like it?”

“What do you mean, your cum or all the other stuff?” Peter teased and Tony chuckled before turning around to face the boy.

“You know what I mean, now tell gorgeous.”

Peter smiled and kissed his nose, “I loved every minute of it, you think we could you know, do it in the pool sometime?” Tony chuckled and kissed him, captured his lips and only let go to gasp for air.

“Well wouldn’t be my first time.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Care to join me for a swim brother?”

Loki turned around to face Byleist. The young prince once again went back to the temple to stare at the paintings and apparently he had been so caught up that he hadn’t noticed how his half-brother swam up to him.

“I ah what are you planning?”

The older prince put a hand on his heart while he grinned his signature, shark like grin. Loki felt a shiver going down his spine and to his horror he noticed that his guards were gone.

“I don’t think our Sire would like me leave,” he quickly said as Byleist didn’t answer but slowly came closer. His grin widened, “oh he doesn’t have to know little brother. We will just keep it as our little secret.”

Loki tried to get away but the huge merman simply grabbed his arm and pulled his face close to his. Sharp teeth gleamed in the dim light and Loki swallowed, trying to down his fear.

“Please don’t do it, whatever you have planned, don’t.”

The prince chuckled lowly and threatening, “oh Loki believe when I say, you are way too early to plead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the smut has arrived, kind of at least.   
> Took me quite long this time. ^^  
> Well please leave a comment and tell me what you think.


	17. Two princes is one too much

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was like super motivated to write so here is the next chapter  
> enjoy the mersmut yes I love that word, lets establish it

Loki was struggling against his half-brother but it was no use, even though his tail was strong Byleist was just too big and strong for him to fight against. To his dismay the Jotun had also called a three of his friends and Loki was painfully reminded of Thor when he used to hang out with the three imbeciles and sometimes Sif.

They too had once overpowered him to drag him along to one of their stupid adventures. It didn’t end well.

“Byleist listen, Laufey will be furious, if he finds out you laid a hand on me he will kill you! Please don’t do this.”

The prince and his friends laughed and he looked down on his little brother. Byleist had simply grabbed Loki, tied his hands behind his back and was now carrying under his arm to wherever he was planning on taking his revenge on him.

“You are right little guppy, _if_ he finds out.”

“Yes,” one of his friends chimed in, he was a little shorter than the prince and he had a large scar on his tail that looked ugly as hell, “we will just make sure the King will never find out how you met your end.”

Loki glared at the moron, “you are all idiots to believe Laufey will not see through this, please…brother let me go!” Byleist scoffed, “oh now you are calling me brother, sorry but you only share half of my blood.”

Loki groaned and tried to wriggle out of the tight grip once again but like before, it was futile. It didn’t help that he had absolutely no idea where they were going. One of the Jotuns led the way and they were moving deeper and deeper into the cave system. It was dark and even colder than before and soon Loki was completely lost, if they abandoned him here he would never be able to find his way back again.

Loki considered begging once again or maybe confusing the Jonuns enough so Byleist might drop him and he could swim off. Maybe a riddle would do? He was pulled out of his thoughts as his so hated half-brother spoke up.

“We are here, good luck little brother.”

Loki wanted to say something but he was thrown into a dark hole and suddenly he noticed that they had tied a heavy weight to his hands that pulled him down quick enough so he was not seeing where he was headed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony smiled as the simulation ran over the screen.

“I knew it was a good idea to hire you Brucie,” he announced and put a hand on the other man’s shoulder. The scientist sighed, “Please don’t call me that and as I recall it was actually Pepper who convinced you to hire me.”

Tony chuckled and waved his hand, “minor details. Well this calls for a victory drink, I mean in theory the Formula is ready to change a merman into a human.” The human walked over to a small fridge and pulled out two bottles of beer, the expensive German type, offering one to his new friend.

Bruce shook his head, “I don’t drink.” Tony rolled his eyes and opened one of the bottles to take a large swing. He liked the bitter taste.

“Bad for you, what do you do to feel good?”

The older man chuckled, “you don’t want to know; besides you would just call me boring.” Tony grinned, “I already am.” Both men laughed and Tony sipped his beer while Bruce made a few calculations.

“Well if we want to find out if it is truly working we need some of Peter’s cells, blood or skin, both if we want to succeed as quickly as possible.”

Tony licked his lips thinking, he could manage to get these things from the boy, but with what excuse? He emptied the bottle and put it next to the bin. Tony eyed Bruce’s unopened bottle and took it but instead of drinking it he placed it back in the fridge.

“Well I will think of something, can you synthesize the stuff? I don’t know when I will be able to get my hands on Peter’s ah stuff so I want to be ready.”

Bruce nodded, “I can, Jarvis says that it will only take two hours.” Tony grinned and clapped his hands, “great, enough time to order us some lunch and call Pepper.” The scientist smiled and Tony walked out of the lab and up the stairs.

Peter was sitting on the couch playing chess with Jarvis as he entered the living room. The genius smiled at his little merman, “hey honey, how is it going?”

Peter looked up with a grin, “I finally understand how this game works, it is so much fun, will you play with me too some time?” Tony smirked, “I think you will have to practice a few more times so you might have a chance against me.”

The AI spoke up, “Sir, I must say that Master Peter has made remarkable progress and has beaten me on almost all levels now.”

Tony raised an eyebrow and this time it was Peter who smirked at him, “what is it? Scared Stark?” The genius laughed, since when did the kid become so sassy? He decided that he liked that.

“Scared? Of you? Kid the only way I could be scared of you would be if we were in a swimming contest together.”

Peter snorted at that but didn’t reply, instead he moved his queen, “checkmate Jarvis, but this was one hell of a game.” Tony chuckled and went to the fridge to get one of those disgusting smoothies, which he secretly started to like, and took a sip.

“Jarvis please order some lunch and call Pepper for me, I don’t know why she wanted me to call her but I know if I don’t she will finally come and take my balls for good.”

Peter giggled liked a schoolgirl at that but Tony ignored him, taking another sip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weight hit the ground with a soft thud and Loki was glad that it was finally over. He had fallen for a few minutes and to be honest he was terrified.

Now however he got a chance to free himself from his bounds. The prince wriggled and pulled but there was no way he would just be able to rip the bonds apart like this, he had to find a tool.

He scanned the floor and yes there was a sharp rock on the ground that would probably do the deed. With a flick of his fins he threw the stone up and caught it with his hands behind his back.

“Ha and Thor said juggling was a useless hobby,” he muttered as he began to work on his bonds. The young merman was so caught up in his work that he didn’t notice the movement in the shadows.

Loki froze as somewhere a rock fell to the ground. Slowly, he turned around but even his sharp eyes had trouble to see in the dim light. The prince swallowed and his gills flared nervously in the water.

“I-is somebody there? Please if there is anybody, please help me.”

No one called back and Loki was almost certain his mind had simply played a trick on him so he went back to cut the ropes with his rock and finally he succeeded. With a sigh of relieve, he pulled free and rubbed his wrists where the bonds had cut into his skin.

“Well this one looks tasty.”

Loki froze, a shiver went down his spine as he heard the voice behind him and slowly, very slowly he turned around to face the first female Jotun he ever encountered.

The young prince looked up with wide eyes as the mermaid leaned down to him with a grin. Her eyes were blood red and her teeth even sharper than Byleist’s and to Loki’s horror; she was even bigger and muscular than him.

The female had a grey blue tail and the fins were in a darker shade of blue. Like the mermaids he knew she had breast but they were small and barely noticeable but that wasn’t surprising since she was basically made of muscles. What surprised him though was the fact that her chest was completely uncovered, apparently they didn’t care about modesty at all.

He swallowed but before he could say anything a voice from behind him spoke, “he is so cute and he smells like fear.” The prince spun around as the female behind him giggled and to his surprise she was small.

Well not small but around his size but with equally red eyes and sharp teeth as the other mermaid. Her figure was also slimmer and she had more curves like the mermaids he was used to, her breast were bigger but also completely uncovered.

She swam towards him and Loki moved backwards bumping into the huge mermaid. He yelped at the contact and wanted to get away but a large hand was placed at the back of his neck to hold him in place.

“He is so tiny, is he a child?”

Suddenly a third and a fourth mermaid appeared, both as small as the second and eyed him curiously.

“No,” the third mermaid stated, “he is fully grown, I can smell it, but he is a virgin.” Loki blushed though he knew not why, this situation was terrifying and he shouldn’t worry about a bunch of females finding out about his well, virtue.

The huge mermaid growled, it sounded like she approved of what she just heard, “oh well then it is decided, he is mine.”

“No!”

One of the smaller mermaids shot forward and grabbed Loki’s arm to yank him towards her. His face was suddenly pushed between the nice and soft pair boobs. Oh if Thor could see that.

The prince didn’t stay like that for long since the two other mermaids also voiced their protest, “no, I want him first, he is cute you will soil him!” Loki was pulled away and faced another mermaid who looked at him with a wide grin, “I want to taste him, surely he tastes sweet like all the forbidden things in life.”

The big mermaid pushed the little ones away and Loki took the opportunity to get away. He shot through the water but since it was so dark and he had no idea where he was going, it was an almost futile attempt to get away.

“Oh he is fast, nice. Get him girls!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lunch had been nice; Peter had talked to Bruce about something he saw on TV while Tony was reading some documents on his tablet that Pepper had sent him. Peter thought it was so funny how a grown up like Tony shivered in fear when that woman was ordering him around.

Suddenly the human looked up, “bad news Peter I have to meet Pepper tomorrow, so I will leave early and will probably come back late. I am sorry.” The boy shrugged, “I will survive, maybe I will take a swim or I will beat Jarvis in chess a few times more.”

Tony chuckled, “good to hear I will get you something, maybe a silly shirt or something like that.” Peter chuckled, “I don’t need clothes Tony, I am used to being naked.” Bruce smiled but also looked intrigued, “so no one wears anything where you come from?”

The boy shrugged and took a sip of water, “no not really, our mermaid cover their chests but only enough for modesty. We mermen only wear jewellery and even that only for ceremonial purposes, like weddings or stuff like that.”

They kept talking a while about that topic while Tony was once again caught up in his documents. Peter had not said anything yet but he was beaming with pride that Tony was wearing the emerald he had given him. The human never took it off.

Peter had been surprised at first unable to tell what it meant for him and other merfolk if they knew of this. In his culture giving another a present was a very intimate act, depending on the present of course, but the fact that Tony had accepted it and even openly wore the gift meant that he had in fact accepted Peters courting.

Luckily the human hadn’t asked why the boy had blushed deep red when he had seen the necklace. It would have been hard to explain for the poor boy.

After lunch Bruce went back to the lab followed by Tony after he cleared the table. Peter helped as well as he could but placing a few items in his lap and rolling into the kitchen was tedious and a slow way to get the chore done.

Tony joked about getting him a motorised wheelchair so they could go on rides together. Peter couldn’t imagine what he meant but he liked the idea of then spending more time out in the open. He would love to take Tony for a dive sometime.

Tony placed a kiss on Peter’s lips before he left to follow the scientist back into the lab.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki tried to not make a sound as he hid behind a large boulder trying to catch his breath. The mermaids were everywhere and he was not so sure if they didn’t want to eat him after their coupling. The merman swallowed and put his hands over his gills so the water wouldn’t rush through them too loudly.

Two giant mermaids rushed past his hideout but they didn’t notice him. They were followed by a bunch of smaller mermaids and it would have looked comically if they hadn’t been after him.

Once they all passed he let out sigh and put his hands down, he needed to get out of the cave and somewhere where either his Sire’s guards would find him or he could find a way home. Dammit he never thought that he would wish for Laufey to come and safe him.

“What are you doing here?”

Loki let out a shriek and jumped up but a hand clamped down on his mouth muffling all sounds that were about to come from him. The mermaid in front of him looked like the others but with one exception, she had her breasts covered and didn’t seem like she would rip him apart if he refused her, yet.

The mermaid glared at him, “shut your mouth male or do you want them to know where you are hiding?” Loki shook his head staring at the strange female, well from his point of view she was more like the only normal female around.

“Good now I will take my hand away and you will be quiet or I will be gone in an instant, I am not crazy enough to fight them for you.”

Loki swallowed and gave a quick nod. The mermaid sighed, “I am going to regret helping you, I can already tell.” She took her hand away and looked around them and apparently sniffed the water.

Loki stared at her with a mix of confusion and curiosity, “thanks for saving me, I am Loki.” The mermaid glanced at him before grapping his wrist and pulling him along, “Angrboda but everyone just calls me Angry or Bo.”

The prince frowned at that, “ah alright how about I call you Angie?” The mermaid stopped for a brief moment but didn’t look at him, “that’s…also fine.”

They swam, or more like Angie swam and Loki was pulled along, through a labyrinth of tunnels and the few times a female was about to cross their path, Angie either pulled or pushed Loki into a small space in the wall or behind a rock. To his surprise the mermaid didn’t seem keen on meeting other females as well.

The questions in Loki’s mind just itched to be asked but he didn’t dare to, not yet at least. Angie pulled him into a cave and she motioned him to help her push a rock in front of the small entrance, once it was in place the cave was cloaked in darkness.

“Hell, how are you able to see in this darkness?” The prince asked a little confused. Angie chuckled, “genetics prince, you have only half of our blood so I am not surprised you cannot see like I do. Wait.”

Loki couldn’t see what she was doing but suddenly the small room was illuminated by a few jellyfish that gave a dim blue glow. It looked beautifully and it was enough for him to see the mermaid in front of him.

“How do you know who I am?”

Angie smiled and took a seat on top of a rock, her fin swaying lazily in the water.

“It wasn’t hard to figure out,” she said with a wave of her hand, Loki swallowed as he noticed the long, black, claw like fingernails.

“Pray tell why,” he asked blinking away the image of the mermaids ripping him apart with their claws. Why did he have to have such a vivid fantasy? He shuddered slightly.

“Byleist comes here often; he brags about things or complains. I sometimes listen to get some news from outside this place.”

Loki frowned, “wait he comes here voluntarily? They almost ripped me apart because everyone wanted a piece of me, why would anyone want to come here?”

Angie wore a face that showed a mixture of amusement and sadness, “we are like ah, a test for the men. They come here to mate and if they survive they are adults or something like that. It is stupid and only guys could ever think up something like that.”

Loki could literally not say anything to defend his gender because if Thor was Jotun he would be so into that. The prince shrugged and Angie began to play with her braid.

She had long beautiful black hair that was braided carefully and almost reached her hips. Loki had to admit she was a beautiful looking mermaid but maybe she just appeared like that because she was the only one who didn’t try to well do stuff to him.

“That is one reason why we keep to ourselves, men mean trouble, they want to wage war and kill each other over trivial things.”

Again she waves her hand and Loki noticed the thin white lines all over her body, they were almost too thin to see but they were also beautiful. They seemed to cover her skin and Loki could see that they ran over her skin in either straight lines or little swirls.

He suddenly wanted to see her in proper light to completely take her in. This was so weird but then again had his life ever been normal?

“The prince managed to mate with one of us and he keeps coming back, the fool has taken a liking to him and so he annoys us with his presence ever so often.”

Angie sighed and got up to swim into a dark corner, “I don’t know why they haven’t killed him, sure he gets injured but I guess he just brags about it. He is such an idiot; I weep for our kind if he becomes king one day.”

Loki knew what she was talking about and watched as she sat back down holding a bowl full of clams in her hand, she offered him some and he gratefully ate with her.

“He also said that his half-brother returned and that he would teach him a lesson sooner or later. I picked up your name so, yeah that is how I know you.”

Loki smiled at her, “I am grateful you do, but excuse me for asking, but why are you so different from the other mermaids?” Angie picked up a clam and slid one of her long nails between the shell and effortlessly broke it open to snatch the spongy meat up with her sharp teeth.

She didn’t answer right away, she took her time, eating slowly and chewing longer than necessary. Loki almost rolled his eyes.

“I am a…a dirty one.”

Loki raised an eyebrow at her. The words were spoken as a whisper and she had her red eyes fixed on the bowl in her lap. The prince didn’t know what that meant but he had a hunch.

“What does that mean?”

Angie licked her lips, “that means I am different, less violent and a little smarter than most of them, just…different you know. They believe that I am like this because I have mixed blood.”

Loki frowned, “mixed blood? Like me?” The mermaid nodded but still didn’t look at him, “yes, I don’t know if that is the case but the others believe it so there is no room for the truth. My mother is gone so I cannot ask her either.”

The prince bit his lip keeping his silence for a long time until he carefully reached out to the mermaid and gently touched her hand.

“If it is any consolation to you, for me you are the most normal person I have met around here so far.”

The mermaid looked up and Loki’s heart clenched as he saw the sad look in them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter moaned as Tony kissed him deeply, his tongue invading his mouth and claiming it in a rough kiss. It was so good.

“You know,” the human began a little breathless, “I have been thinking Peter.” Peter chuckled, “oh god no.” Tony grinned and swatted him on the shoulder, “hey you little brat, at least listen before you turn me down.”

Peter grinned back but sighed theatrically, “Alright if I have to.” Tony smirked at him, “oh you do, because if you don’t I won’t do that to you ever again.” He kissed the spot behind Peter’s ear and with his teeth he grabbed his earlobe to slightly pull and nibble at it.

The boy moaned and his hard cock pressed against Tony’s stomach, “oh god then tell me, what were you thinking?” Satisfied the human sat up. He was straddling Peter and took his cock in his hand, the loose grip not enough to give the boy any relieve but tight enough to torture him.

“I was thinking that maybe you should fuck me. I mean you have a naturally oily dick and I am naturally curious.”

Peter blinked at his human lover, “you serious?” Tony laughed and nodded, “I am, I just figured it would be easier that way, at least until I get to understand your physique a little bit better.”

Peter downright gaped at the human, this was a weird dream, it had to be. Why would a man like Tony agree to let him do something like this to him?

“A-Are you sure?”

Tony smiled and kissed him, “I am and this way you can maybe figure out if you like that or not.” Peter nodded a bit numb. The human sensed his hesitance and sighed, “but if you don’t want to then we can try something else.”

Peter quickly shook his head, “no, no, no I ah I am just a little scared that I might hurt you.” Tony chuckled and grabbed some lube out of his nightstand, “how cute, but believe me dear, this is not my first rodeo.”

The boy blushed and sat up to get his instructions, he knew the basics from the porn he had watched but the real thing proved to be a little bit different. Even Tony looked at him a bit unsure weighting the bottle in his hand.

“Ah do you want to work me open or should I demonstrate it.”

Peter swallowed and licked his lips, “I-I would like to try.” The words were mere whispers and Peter quickly averted his gaze as he blushed furiously. Tony simply chuckled, “alright I will give you instructions if needed.”

He gave the boy the bottle, turned around and got on all fours, his ass pointing in Peter’s directions while the long tail lay beneath him. Peter took the bottle and opened it pouring some of the clear liquid on his hand and covering his fingers with it.

It felt strangely cool but also rather nice. Taking a deep breath he began to rub carefully over his lover’s hole. Tony shivered but hummed pleased, “that is nice, I trust you Peter, you know that right?”

“Yeah,” the boy replied in a breathy voice and slowly pushed against the entrance until the tip of his index finger slipped in. He let it rest there until he pulled out only to immediately push in again.

The human groaned at the teasing. The merman chuckled, “is that alright?” Tony nodded, “yes, it is you can do more you know I can take it. Please stop teasing me like this.”

Peter grinned but obliged, partly. He pushed his finger in deeper only to pull out completely again and again. Tony was sure he would go crazy before anything else, but he was unable to contain his moans.

“You ah you are not bad at this Pete. Sure you haven’t done this before?”

The boy pulled his finger out only to re-enter his lover with two fingers. It felt so good.

“Never, we don’t do things like this under the sea.”

Tony sighed at the stimulation, “well this is a huge missed opportunity. Gods keep moving.” Peter smiled and reached deeper searching for that spot he heard of. Once the tip of his finger touched it, Tony jolted forwards with a gasp.

“Ah sorry, did I hurt you? I heard that this was pleasurable but…”

“No! Do it again!”

Peter almost flinched at Tony’s tone but he did as he was told, gently brushing over his prostate again. The human sobbed against his tail and Peter watched fascinated.

“Peter, please give me another.”

At first the merman wanted to ask, but then he understood and pushed a third finger in. Tony moaned loudly and Peter felt weirdly proud of himself being able to turn the man in such a mess.

“T-Tony do you think you are ready?” Peter carefully asked after a few minutes and Tony nodded. His voice did sound a little breathlessly tough as he asked, “yes, oh yes go-go on Peter.”

The boy almost let out a cheer but managed to hold back in the last minute. Instead he nodded eagerly, “alright how should we do it? I mean, how is it the easiest?”

Tony turned around and smiled at the boy, “I think for your first time, I will do the work.” Before Peter could ask what he meant with that he stood and slowly lowered himself on the boy’s cock.

Peter let out a gasp and Tony moaned lowly as the slick length breached him. It was a little weird for him but not the weirdest thing Tony ever did. The merman on the other hand was completely overwhelmed.

“T-Tony stop, wait ah this is oh gods.”

Tony stopped just as Peter was fully inside, he too tried to catch his breath. The boy had his eyes closed and his eyebrows knitted together as if he was concentrating on a complex equation.

“Peter? What is it dear? Don’t you like it?”

“I-I do but it is so, ah so strange so unfamiliar I ah don’t know what to do.”

Tony took one of Peter’s hands; he had balled them into fists, and began to rub circles on it trying to get the boy to relax. It worked and after a few seconds the tension visibly left him.

Tony smiled, “very well, you are doing good, love. Relax you don’t have to do anything; I will make it feel good. Just…watch me please.” Peter looked up to Tony and into his beautiful brown eyes.

The human smiled a gentle smile before he began to move. Both men gasped at the sensation and it didn’t take long for them to feel their climaxes to draw close. Peter moaned loudly gripping Tony’s hips to not lose his grasp on reality. This all seemed like a dream to him.

Tony moaned and leaned forward to capture Peter’s lips in a kiss; it felt like this had always meant to be. The human sighed against his lover’s lips, “Peter I ah I think I can’t last much longer.”

Peter gave him a weak smile, “I am also at my limit I ah can I come Mr Stark?” A thrill went through Tony as the boy called him like that and he smirked, “not yet, not until I say so.”

The look in those brown eyes was almost too much for Tony but he managed to straighten his back again and to grab his own neglected cock and stroke it. It was a delicious torture and he enjoyed every second of it.

Tony moved and just as he managed to angle himself just right for Peter to hit his prostate, he let out a loud moan and arched his back shooting his load all over the merman’s chest.

“Ah you can come.”

Peter groaned as he watched Tony fall apart and as he felt him clench around his cock, he also came with a loud moan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Odin watched as his wife held their son but wept for her youngest. The King gripped his spear tightly as he put a hand on Thor’s shoulder, “I am glad you are back son.”

Thor looked at him and there was a storm behind his blue eyes, “yes, but for what price?” Odin sighed and looked down. They all knew that he was unable to get Loki back without waging war on the Jotuns.

Laufey was smart and he had been an old fool, just as Loki had said. The King felt the need to rest, to restore his strength but there was no time for this, he had to be strong for his family and his kingdom.

With a soft squeeze on his shoulders he made Thor focus on him once again.

“Worry not son, we will get him back, I promise.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I imagined that the large mermaids are more like sharks and the smaller more like piranhas. When writing I couldnt decide which one to pick so I took both.   
> Now tell me what shall happen to Loki? Will he escape from the vicious females or will he be recaptured so they can have their way with him?   
> Thanks for reading, leave a comment below.


	18. Not my lucky day

Loki licked his lips as he watched from his hiding spot as Angrboda talked to the other mermaids. It was clear that they were still searching for him and he had to admit he was scared shitless of the females.

Suddenly one of the large mermaids grabbed Angie’s arm and shook her almost violently, “then why do you smell like him?” Loki prayed to every god that might listen that his only ally wouldn’t sell him out in the end.

“I had him but he escaped, now let me go! I need food so get out of my way!”

The mermaid chuckled and two other, smaller ones appeared next to her. Loki hated the fact that he was barely able to see in this darkness.

“Oh Boda grew a spine it seems, nice. Come on sisters we need to search the place, the prince can’t be far if he just escaped the dirty one.”

All of them laughed and passed Angie without so much as a glance at his hiding spot and he let out a breath. Thank the gods for their ignorance.

Angie watched them swim away and waved at Loki to follow her. The prince complied immediately and quickly swam behind her. They made their way through the tunnel and luckily no one spotted them and after a few more stops they reached the exit.

“Is that it?”

Angie rolled her eyes and looked at Loki, “partly this is the exit to our official territory but that doesn’t mean that they won’t find you out there. They are really resourceful.”

Loki nodded, “so you coming?” Angie knitted her eyebrows together and looked at him, “what?” The prince looked around, “you said it yourself they can still find me, I need your help to find my way home, besides you are not happy here, are you?”

The mermaid licked her lips and sighed, “not really but I…there is no place out there for me.” Loki put a hand on her shoulder making her look up again, “that is not true, I have a plan and I could use an ally like you.”

The girl bit her lip thinking and Loki almost held his breath until she finally sighed, “alright I will come with you.” Loki grinned and grabbed her hand to swim side by side with her out of the cave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter was woken when Tony stepped out onto the patio and crouched next to the pool, “Peter?” The boy yawned but rose from his spot on the sand and pushed himself to the surface.

“Morning Tony, you are up early.”

The human grimaced and nodded, “yeah I had to get up because of the meeting with Pepper. I ah I wanted to say goodbye before I leave and I wanted to ask you for a blood sample.”

Peter knitted his eyebrows together, “a blood sample? Why would you need that?” Tony looked a little uncomfortable as he didn’t meet Peter’s gaze and scratched his beard nervously.

“I just want to make sure you are healthy and so I will let Bruce run some tests. If that is okay for you?”

Peter bit his lip, he remembered just too well what Hydra had done to him but he was not haunted by the memories since he had Tony to comfort him. Still he didn’t like the thought of being poked by needles again.

“I uh I would rather not…can I talk to Bruce about that?”

Tony’s smile slightly fell but he nodded, “yeah sure he will be back tomorrow.” The human stood up straight and put his hand in the pockets of his dress pants.

“I will take my leave now, if somethings up, tell Jarvis and he will call me. Have a nice day Peter.”

The boy smiled back and nodded, “you too Tony, don’t overwork yourself.” The genius chuckled, “I? Never.” And with that he turned and left the patio, closing the door behind him.

Peter smiled and let out a yawn. It was way too early and so he went back to his place on the sand and curled up to hopefully go back to his dreams about kissing his human lover.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Never in his life had Loki thought that he would one day be glad to see Laufey. The King was floating with his guard in the throne room and it looked like he just yelled at them because they seemed surprisingly small under his gaze.

Loki cleared his throat, “Sire?”

Laufey spun around and his eyes widened as he spotted his offspring but he seemed more surprised by the mermaid following him. Loki raised an eyebrow and yelped as Laufey shot forward grabbing his arms to study him intently.

“Where were you? I was worried sick and why have you brought this mermaid with you?”

Loki tried to push the king off but his grip was too tight. Angie shifted behind him but she kept quiet. Loki growled, “let go of me and I will explain.”

Finally Laufey let go and Loki took a deep breath before he began to speak.

“Byleist wanted to get rid of me; he grabbed me and threw me down into the cave where the females live.”

He looked at Angie and smiled, “this is Angrboda, she helped me escape unharmed.” She looked at the floor not daring to meet the king’s gaze. Laufey crossed his arms in front of his chest and tilted his head.

“Is that true girl?”

Angie nodded, “yes it is, my king.” Loki smiled at her rather pleased. He expected Laufey to not believe them, to vouch for his son or something, anything else but instead Laufey laughed.

The young prince stared at him in bewilderment glancing at Angie who wore the same expression.

“Have you gone mad?”

The King put a heavy hand on his shoulder, “absolutely not son, but now it is certain, you are the new crown prince of Jotunheim and I am glad you already found your future queen.”

The Angie’s mouth fell open and Loki’s eyes widened, “oh hell no.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter woke later the day and when he finally decided to get up it was only because he had to use the bathroom. The merman enjoyed the silent house even though he had to admit that he missed Tony a little bit already.

Their last encounter had left him hungry for more and he was eager to try out something else. The thought of being taken by Tony was still a little scary to him but he really warmed up to the idea.

The boy smiled happily as he rolled into the kitchen, pulling himself up to sit on the kitchen counter so he head easier access to the fridge. He opened it and was pleased to find a full carton of his new favourite drink, blood orange juice, and a plate of smoked fish just waiting for him in there.

The fish tasted weird at first but he really had started to like it, especially the thin sliced salmon.

Carefully he put both items down on the counter and closed the fridge. He reached up and opened a drawer to pull out a glass since he refused to drink directly out of the carton like Tony did, that was just gross.

Peter poured himself a glass and after putting the juice back into the fridge he took a large sip of it. He just loved the bitter and sour taste of the juice, it was so alien to him but he enjoyed it a lot.

He ate is breakfast trying to figure out what to do today a when he accidently spilled some of his juice. Peter sighed and finished his fish before looking around to clean his mess up, he was still a guest after all.

Peter was rarely a really clumsy person, but just as everyone he had his moments.

The boy spotted the roll of paper towels and reached to grab them, knocking his still half full glass off the counter. It broke with a loud clang on the hard tiles and he let out a curse grabbing the towels.

He threw a few down on his mess before attempting to climb down into his chair but unfortunately for him he forgot about the mess on the counter and one of his hands slipped.

The merman let out a shriek as he fell down, half landing on his wheelchair, knocking it over and half on the cold floor and if that hadn’t been painful enough, a sharp pain flared up in his right hand.

“Master Peter, are you alright?”

Peter gasped for air and managed to get away from the mess, clutching his injured hand to his chest, “I-I don’t think I am.” Blood was running through his fingers and the sharp pain made him tear up.

“Should I call Mr Stark?”

Peter nodded, trying to open his hand and whimpered as the pain got worse, “yes, yes he needs to come back quickly.” Carefully he grabbed one of the shards and pulled it out almost crying out loud at the feeling.

“I informed Mr Stark about your accident, he will return as soon as he can but it will take him approximately two hours. I also tried to inform Dr Banner but he would need almost three hours to come.”

Peter grunted as he pulled out another shard, “oh great, what should I do?” Now that almost all of the big shards were out Peter pulled himself into the wheelchair, rolling into the living room.

It was a little difficult, seeing that he was only able to use one of his hands but he managed.

“I suggest you try to bandage the wound yourself, there is a first aid kit in Mr Stark’s lab.”

Peter took a deep breath looking at his blood soaked hand and sighed, “don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laufey looked murderous as Byleist glared up to him. There was no regret in the prince’s eyes, no understanding for what his actions could have done. Why was his son damn dumb?

“So you don’t deny your actions son?”

“I will never. Father you need to understand-.”

Laufey laughed but it wasn’t a joyful laughter. It was devoid of all warmth, “I need to understand? Oh son do you realize that the only reason you are still alive is because you are in fact my son? Had that deed be done by another he would have been dead the instant I saw him.”

The prince swallowed but didn’t budge, “father he is a weak little being, remind yourself, you casted him out long ago because of that. We don’t need him father, he is just a bother.”

Laufey sighed, “a bother? No, Byleist the boy is not a bother he has been true to his word up until now. He is a better prince than you will ever be I fear.”

Byleist scoffed and crossed his arms in front his chest. Laufey actually considered strangling him right here and there but refrained from him. The prince titled his head, “why do we need him anyway you never told me father, what can he do that I don’t?”

Laufey let out a short laugh, “you mean besides think?” Byleist growled but his father didn’t give him much time to reply, “he is smart and know for a fact that he commands the giant snake.”

Byleist’s jaw dropped, “what, that can’t be true?” Laufey smiled, “but it is, he is the merman that controls the great Jormungandr. With it and his brain that is working, unlike yours, we can once again become the most fearsome creatures in all the seven seas. We will kill the humans, devour their flesh and steal their goods, like in the old times.”

The prince looked a little uncomfortable with that thought, “what about the Aesir?” Laufey laughed, “what about them? They will not stand a chance against us. I will kill Odin personally and I will make his wife watch.”

Byleist shivered at that but he also smiled at the thought of killing the other king. However he wasn’t convinced that Loki would be the key to their victory and it clearly showed on his face.

The King focused his red gaze on his firstborn, “so I decided to make Loki crown prince. Tomorrow I will gather the people and make the announcement.” Byleist paled as he heard that and he thought that one of the guards that were guarding the king chuckled.

“Since you are my son I will give you a choice, either you step back and will still be a member of this court or I will banish you so you will never return.”

Byleist looked shocked before he looked angry, “why not just kill me old man!” Laufey sighed, “because you are the last thing that Farbauti gifted to me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter rolled his wheelchair to the top of the staircase and looked at the stairs with dread, “is there no other way?” The AI sounded as if he wanted to sigh, “no Master Peter, Mr. Stark only has a first aid kit down in his lab and you are in need of it. You have to get down there.”

Peter groaned and slipped out of the wheelchair, careful to not put any weight on his injured hand. He wrapped the wet blanked around his tail and began to slide down the stairs where he basically sat down on one stair and hopped down to the next.

Once he reached the bottom stair he saw the glass door that separated him from the lab. Jarvis opened it without a comment and Peter used his uninjured hand to pull himself forward and into the lab.

The machines and tools that where taking up the space were completely alien to him and he was glad that Jarvis was there to guide him to the high table, which he called a workbench, where the first aid kit was placed.

“Very good Master Peter, it lies on top of the workbench, you need to pull yourself up to reach it.”

Peter sighed but his hand was still bleeding and so he knelt in front of the bench and pulled himself up, placing his chest on the table. He looked around and spotted the white box with the green cross and pulled it closer. Peter saw the weird looking glass on top of it but he wasn’t close enough to reach it and put it aside so he just pulled the box closer trying to not spill anything.

Of course it didn’t work out.

Peter pulled the box and it hit a corner somewhere and the glass toppled over, spilling its content all over the boy’s hand and arm. The merman hissed more out of annoyances than pain and pulled the box up to him and slid to the floor.

“Jarvis, what was in that glass, it looked like water? Will Tony be angry when he finds out that I spilled it?”

He quickly opened the box wiping his hand dry on his chest so he could open the package with the bandages to put them around the cut in his hand. It wasn’t ideal but it would help until Tony was back to fix him up properly.

“It contained the Formula PMH16, it is a project Mr Stark worked on together with doctor Banner and it was very important to him.”

Peter winced at that but still fixed the bandage around his wrist so it wouldn’t slip down. He would have to apologize to Tony when he was back, “oh shit, well now it is spilled and there is noth-ah, Jarvis I ah!”

The boy cried out as a hot searing pain shot through him, starting from the tip of his tail up to his hair. It was hell, he felt like he was on fire, well not that he knew how that felt like, but he was sure it felt somewhat like this.

The screams tore from his throat and made it hoarse and they were so loud, he didn’t even hear Jarvis as he told him that he made a call to Tony so he would hurry up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki sat awkwardly in front of Angie who looked everywhere but him. The two of them were brought to Loki’s cave and Laufey had instructed them to stay inside until told otherwise.

“Well when I woke up this morning I wanted to catch a squid, you know I just love squid, maybe find something built a proper weapon and you know, not get in trouble. Now I am going to be queen.”

Loki looked at her and opened his mouth to answer but he could only laugh. Angie stared at him for a moment before they both began to laugh. What else could they do in this situation?

“Oh man we need to get out of this.”

Angie tried to catch her breath and nodded, “oh yes, absolutely.” Loki sighed but managed to smile at her.

“Good thing that I have a plan.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony ran into the house and down the stairs, ignoring the pain in his side as he did. When Jarvis had called him the first time, telling him that Peter cut himself he was worried, he had only half an hour left on his meeting and had been sure that he had enough time if the boy managed to put on a bandage so he wouldn’t lose too much blood.

When the second call came, telling him that Peter was screaming and in pain on the floor of his lab, Tony had literally pushed Happy out of his way and so he could jump into his car and get on his way.

He had pushed his car to its limits so he would be home as fast as he could. Now he was dashing into the lab but he was unable to spot his merman.

“Peter?”

His answer was a whimper that seemed to come from underneath his workbench. Slowly, dreading what he might see, the genius moved closer until he stood in front of the bench. His foot hit the first aid kit, which was still on the floor, its contents strewn all over the place.

“Peter? I know it’s probably a stupid question, but are you alright?”

He crunched low and gaped at the boy that sat under his desk. Peter had his arms tightly wrapped around a pale pair of legs, while his face was hidden in the knees. He was sobbing but Tony didn’t dare to touch him, he was too afraid to break him.

“What, what did you do to me?”

Tony blinked and took in the long perfect legs, strong with muscles and oh so beautiful. His neck was long and smooth and without gills which was both beautiful and weird in some way.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!”

The scream let Tony flinch and he almost backed up, but he couldn’t, he needed to be strong now, for Peter. His Peter, his beautiful, scared boy.

“You-you did this to me, didn’t you? It was your weird Formula I-I touched it and it turned me into a human! Why do you have something like this, why?”

Peter had raised his head to look at Tony, his face was red and tearstained and it looked like he had cried for some time. Tony’s heart almost broke as he looked at him, “Peter I…oh god I am so sorry, please let me help you.”

Tony held out his hand but still didn’t dare to touch his lover. For a long moment Peter just blankly at his hand, it made Tony break out into a sweat.

The boy let out a chuckle but he didn’t sound amused at all, “as if I had a choice.” Tony bit his lip as he pulled him out from under the desk and picked him up bridal style.

“I will get you into bed and then take a look at your hand, I ah I am really sorry Peter.”

He meant it and his heart hurt to see him so scared and confused. Peter looked so small in his arms.

The put an arm around Tony’s neck and sighed, closing his eyes. He looked exhausted and done with the day so Tony was almost surprised as he heard him mumble a reply.

“I know.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony paced in front of his bedroom. He had put the boy into bed after putting him into a pair of boxers and taking a look at his injury. Peter had been so exhausted that he had fallen asleep as soon as Tony had tucked him in; the sight had made his heart clench.

“Sir I called Doctor Banner and he will arrive in approximately thirty minutes.”

Tony sighed in relieve, he was definitely not capable of handling the situation on his own. He ran both hands through his hair deciding to get a drink, at least now he had a solid reason to drink.

It had all gone wrong, Tony had planned to ask Peter if he would like to become a human, he had wanted him to make the decision and talk with him about it, it was never supposed to go like this. Hell they hadn’t even tested it yet.

Tony stopped as a terrible thought hit him, what if the Formula was unstable and would hurt Peter? He would never forgive himself if he ruined the boy’s life further. The Formula’s purpose was to help Peter to give him the opportunity to decide how he wanted to live.

Now that choice was taken from him and it was all Tony’s fault, oh how he wanted to scream.

The genius walked up to his bar and pulled out a bottle of Whiskey and poured a generous amount of it into a glass just before taking a large swing out of it. The liquor burned down his throat and he hissed out a curse, not only because of the alcohol.

With a sigh he slumped down on the couch rubbing his face with both hands, hopefully Bruce would be able to help him through this situation.

“Sir may I suggest you to clean up the kitchen? The shards pose a potential threat.”

Tony almost groaned, but got up anyway. He cleaned up the mess and afterwards watched the footage of Peter’s accident. Another thing he could blame on him.

His house was definitely not made for a merman or anyone who was sitting in a wheelchair, why didn’t he made sure Peter could take care of himself when he was not home?

The doorbell pulled him out of his thought and Tony was glad it did. Quickly he walked up to the front door greeting his fellow scientist.

“Tony, I don’t understand, what happened?”

The genius sighed heavily before answering, “the Formula, it worked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drama has arrived finally   
> Things were going way too smoothly   
> Thanks for reading please leave a comment below


	19. The same as it never was

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update, you will find my sorry excuse and attempt to make it up to you at the end of the chapter

If Tony expected Bruce to be excited about the fact that the formula worked without even testing it, Tony had been as wrong as he could be. After Bruce arrived he demanded an explanation and Tony told him everything he knew and the Doctor began to yell at him.

The genius was quite dumbfounded by that and unable to fight back and that was something, keeping in mind that he fought for his company verbally for years.

“You just kept it standing around! Hell Tony what did you think? That stuff was dangerous to humans and untested to merpeople you could have changed your own DNA if you touched it!”

Tony licked his lips trying to come up with something but Bruce wouldn’t let him.

“God Tony, apart from the fact that you probably scarred the boy for life, again! The formula was not yet tested and could be unstable; I don’t know what could happen to Peter if that is the case. This stuff could kill him!”

Tony looked to the floor suddenly really ashamed of his own stupidity. He was a genius wasn’t he? He was supposed to act smart.

“I am sorry.”

“Oh don’t apologize to me Tony you didn’t ruin my life.”

Tony closed his eyes and flinched as if he had been slapped. Damn Bruce was mean when he was angry, but well he supposed he deserved that. Sighing he looked up but whatever he was going to say was forgotten as he heard the call.

“Mr. Stark, Tony?”

Both men rushed to the bedroom and Peter flinched as they hasted inside. He still looked pale and tired but at least he wasn’t crying.

Tony sighed again, “hey kid, how are you?” Peter shrugged and sat up making sure his lower half was covered. Tony’s heart hurt as he noticed.

“I am fine I guess, but my hand hurts.”

Bruce smiled at him and sat down on the edge of the bed, “I will take a look at that, Tony please get me my bag from the living room.”

Tony wanted to say something but in the end he just nodded and walked outside to do as he was told. The genius sighed and picked up the rather heavy bag wondering what the two were talking about. Well not that he couldn’t imagine it.

 

Peter watched Tony go and for some reason he felt bad seeing his human so beat down. Not that he had any reason to; again it was Peter who had to deal with the consequences of Tony’s actions.

“Peter this might be a strange question but how do you really feel?”

Peter focused on Bruce, the older man looked at him with concern and the former merman felt thankful for having him as a friend and ally. The boy lifted his injured hand, “I wasn’t lying Bruce, besides this I am good, although slightly confused and a little weirded out.”

The man laughed and took his hand, carefully taking off the bandages. Peter saw him wince at how bloody everything underneath was.

“Weirded out, by what?”

“Well,” Peter began a slight smirk playing around his lips, “I guess the fact that I suddenly have legs with toes, which are pretty weird, and that I now have a human penis with testicles is a start.”

Bruce laughed again pulling the bin close to throw the bloodied utensils away, “ah yes I have to say that I was also confused about some of that when I was your age, but I guess for different reasons.”

The boy chuckled but knitted his eyebrows together as he looked at his hand. It looked like he was butchered and he hoped that his fast healing didn’t do more damage than good.

Tony walked in putting down the bag and his eyebrows became one straight line as he looked at the wound on Peter’s hand. For some reason Peter blushed and looked away, maybe he was embarrassed about his own clumsiness.

“Ah Tony great timing I need water and a cloth or something, I need to clean that so I can see what is under all that blood.”

Tony nodded and glanced at Peter before disappearing again. The boy sighed, “he feels so bad because of me.” Bruce raised an eyebrow as he put his bag on the bed and opened it, “Peter honestly he should feel bad, I mean he did this to you.”

Peter looked down where his legs were hidden under the white sheet, “ah well I kinda did this to myself, I mean I got myself hurt and had to go into the lab.” The Doctor sighed and pulled out a pair of tweezers.

“Peter we made that Formula and I went along with it because I thought he would talk to you about it, well he said he wanted to surprise you with it.”

Peter frowned, “surprise me?” Bruce nodded, “yes for some reason he believes that you two can only really be together if you are the same species so he wanted to give you the option to become a human.”

The boy looked down again. He could understand why Tony would be thinking that but it didn’t make this situation any better. Gods they would have so much to talk about.

Tony walked back in with a bowl of water and a cloth. He put both down on the nightstand, looking a little awkward and lost. Peter felt bad once again.

“Ah should I go and leave you two alone?”

Bruce picked up the cloth and wet it but didn’t answer, he simply glanced at Peter. The boy grabbed the sheets with is uninjured hand unsure of what to do. He didn’t want Tony to leave but he was also not sure if he wanted him to stay.

Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair turning to the door.

“Wait!”

Both men froze in what they were doing and Peter blushed heavily, why did he stop him? The boy chewed on his lip, taking his time to continue.

“I uh you can stay if you like, I uh I might cry.”

Bruce hid his smile as he turned around and began to gently wipe off the blood from the boy’s hand. Peter winced and Tony was instantly at his side holding his good hand.

“I am sorry Peter,” he whispered and Peter sighed resting his head on his shoulder as he saw Bruce picking up the tweezers. That was not something he wanted to watch.

“I know Tony, I am just…scared.”

He could see the sad and hurt expression in Tony’s eyes but the human didn’t reply, he just kissed his forehead. Bruce picked out a tiny piece of glass and glanced at the two.

 _Well,_ he thought, _fools in love. The classic._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki swam into the throne cave and Laufey greeted him with the biggest smile he ever saw on him. It was rather unsettling.

“Sire! We need to talk!”

Laufey tilted his head, “oh we do indeed I talked to Byleist.” Loki nodded, “very well I hope he is in serious trouble, anyway I am here to tell you that Angie and I will take our leave.”

The King’s smile fell and he sat up straighter in his throne, “will you? And why if I may inquire?” Loki smiled and this time it was him who looked like a shark.

“Because Laufey, you failed to hold up your end of the bargain, you promised me protection.”

Realization dawned at his face and he shot up into the water a sneer on his face, “you will not leave.” Loki chuckled glancing at the guards surrounding them, “so you, Laufey, King of Jotunheim will break his vow?”

His Sire shot towards him and Loki shrieked as his large hand wrapped itself around his throat. The prince’s eyes widened with fear and surprise.

“You think I will just let you go after all the trouble I went through? I made you Loki, you belong to me, you are mine to use as I please.”

Loki clawed at the hand that was squeezing his throat so hard that no water would get in or out. The King smiled and pulled him closer so his lips were almost brushing the boy’s ear, “ah and two things, if you try to escape I will hurt your mermaid and a promise given to a halfblood like you isn’t something I have to keep anyway.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce pulled five tiny shards out of Peter’s hand but didn’t have to do any stitches to close the wounds, he was sure that his fast healing would do the work. Tony stayed by his side the entire time until he was finished and comforted the boy.

Thanks to his time with Hydra he was terribly afraid of being treated medically, even by Bruce. Tony at some point began to mumble reassuring words into his ear to calm the trembling boy down, especially when Bruce insisted to take a blood sample. Peter hadn’t liked that but he had seen why they needed it so he allowed it.

Bruce then disappeared with the sample into the lab and the two lovers were alone once more. Peter sighed and rubbed over the band aid Bruce had put over the nick of the needle. Tony watched with a sigh.

“How about we eat something? How does Pizza sound?”

Peter smiled at him, “good, but I don’t want to eat in bed, can we watch a movie in the living room?” Tony smiled and nodded, “sure we can, I will order our usual and get your wheelchair.”

The boy smiled and pulled the covers back taking a look at his legs and wriggling his toes, “I can walk now, Tony.” The human looked at his legs, too.

“Jarvis, please order our usual pizza.”

“Right away, Sir.”

Tony walked up to Peter who swung his new legs over the edge of the bed. The boy was determent he could see that, but still he put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from getting up, “Peter you have no idea how to walk, you need to learn first.”

The boy shot him a surprisingly angry look, “I am a fast learner.” Tony licked his lips, “I think we should ask Bruce if that is a good idea.” Peter let out a frustrated noise and shoved Tony backwards.

The older man stumbled, surprised by how strong the boy still was, he kind of thought he was completely human now, but that was apparently not the case.

“You give me legs but refuse to let me walk! At least let me try!”

Tony swallowed as he heard how hurt and lost Peter sounded.

In the end, Tony had kind of given in to Peter. He had put one of his arms over his shoulders and helped him stand. Peter had been too amazed or scared, Tony honestly couldn’t tell, to protest.

At first the movement of his legs reminded him of someone whose legs had fallen asleep but at least he was able to move them separately. The two men slowly made their way into the living room where Tony sat the younger down on the couch.

He could see how pissed Peter was when he placed the wheelchair next to the couch but the boy didn’t say a word about it. Tony was glad about that because he was in no mood to argue. When the pizza arrived he called Bruce and the three of them silently munched on it while watching Ghost Busters.

Tony loved showing Peter these classic movies and the boy seemed absolutely absorbed into it. Bruce picked the olives off his piece of pizza before taking a bite, “Tony I think you should get Peter some clothes.”

Tony swallowed a huge piece of cheese before answering, “he doesn’t want clothes, it was hard enough to convince him to wear underwear but if you want him clothed talk to him.” Bruce raised an eyebrow at the man. Peter didn’t listen he giggled at some joke in the movie.

“You want to make me the stern parent?”

Tony shuddered, “Bruce, Peter and I have kind of a romantic relationship I don’t want to imagine me as something even close to a parent to him.” The scientist laughed, “alright, it was a joke.”

Tony picked one of his olives of his pizza and flicked at the other man who chuckled but caught the little black vegetable and placed it on Peter’s slice. The boy liked everything salty and even though both men thought the combination of olives and anchovies disgusting he couldn’t get enough of it.

After their meal, Bruce left but promised to be back early in the morning so he could do more research. Tony and Peter stayed behind on the couch in comfortable silence. At least until the movie finished.

Tony glanced at the boy next to him who stared blankly at the credits and suddenly he wondered, “can you read?” Peter blinked and looked at his human, “pardon?” Tony pointed at the words that flew over the screen, “can you read our words?”

Peter looked down, “ah not really, the letters don’t make sense to me.” Tony smiled at him, “well you are living with me now so I will teach you, just in case you want to stay human.”

The boy blinked and looked down on his feet, he was curling his toes, it seemed like a nervous habit to him. Peter licked his lips and took a deep breath, “you would turn me back?” Tony’s heart clenched.

He quickly wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him against his chest. The older man buried his face in the crook of his neck inhaling his scent.

“Peter I-I have to be honest with you, I want to be with you and I would of course prefer it if you were human, but,” he drew a deep breath and tightened his embrace, “but if that makes you unhappy or hate me, I would even make a deal with the devil himself to turn you back into a merman.”

Tony was unable to see Peter’s face, but he felt how he wrapped his arms around him.

“Tony,” his voice sounded thick with tears, “thank you, thank you so much.” They pulled apart and both fools smiled at each other before they leaned in to kiss one another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki fumed and Angrboda watched him with a raised eyebrow. The prince picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the wall feeling a little smug as it broke in two from the impact. The mermaid remained unimpressed.

“Didn’t you say you had a plan?”

Loki glared at her, “yes but apparently I didn’t see the major flaw in it.” The girl raised an eyebrow in question.

“Laufey was never willing to keep his promise.”

Angie sighed, “could’ve told you that, the King is not known to be rather honourable.” Loki glared at her but he took a deep breath, “yes, yes but the good thing is I am also not bound to my word anymore so we can try to escape.”

Angie crossed her arms in front of her chest, “we?” Loki nodded slowly, “yes, we or do you want to stay with the males and get married to, I don’t know, Byleist?” The mermaid wrinkled her nose, “good point, let’s get out of here.”

Loki grinned, “very well getting out of here is already one of the hard part I mean this boulder is too heavy for us to move.” Angie frowned and got up from her seat to swim over to the blocked entrance.

She knocked on the solid rock and Loki watched a little confused. The mermaid turned around and shrugged, “I can move it, I moved heavier things.” Loki gaped at her, “are Jotuns stronger than normal merpeople or is it just you females?”

Angie smirked and again took her place her fins flapping lazily in the water, “most of us are stronger than our males even us smaller ones so I guess you Aesir are just really weak.” Loki nodded and swallowed as he made a note to himself never to piss Angie off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter didn’t know it felt so good having the other man like this. He was straddling Tony and though the sensation was a little weird at first he liked the position. It made it easy for him to kiss and explore his body.

Peter smiled as Tony let out a gasp as he kissed his neck and down his chest. His hands roamed the body of his lover and he was delighted to fell a certain hard thing pressing against his backside.

“Do you like that?”

Tony grinned and pulled Peter into a kiss, “you bet I do.” Peter laughed and pulled free lightly scratching the human’s chest. Tony purred and the former merman laughed.

“Stop doing that.”

Tony sat up and kissed Peter’s nose, “what? I am not doing anything.” Peter giggled before he yelped as Tony lifted him off the couch carrying him bridal style.

“I want you in my bed Peter.”

The boy shivered at the husky voice of the human and nodded, putting an arm around his neck. Tony quickly carried him to the bedroom where he placed him on the bed before stripping down.

Peter watched with a smile, he would never tire to stare at Tony’s body. The human slowly crawled on the bed still wearing his boxers and Peter licked his lips in anticipation. He was already excited about what was to come.

Tony kissed him again and this time it were his hands that roamed the boy’s chest. Peter watched as they went lower and lower until Tony hooked two fingers into the waistband of his boxers.

Peter nodded as Tony gave him a questioning look and the human pulled them off and threw them aside.

It was a little weird to look at his lower body but Peter would get used to it, at least that was what he hoped. Tony would still do his best to turn him back, Peter knew but he was no magician that could do things with a snap of his fingers.

Suddenly he was pulled back into reality as Tony caressed his tights and his breath ghosted over the tip of his now human cock. It wasn’t much different from his old one just a little shorter but therefor not as thin anymore.

He had to admit he liked the look of it.

A moan escaped the boy as Tony briefly licked the tip and his hips jerked up involuntary. He didn’t have any control yet and he blushed even harder because of it.

Tony chuckled, “eager aren’t we? Well I wanted to ask you Peter, how would you like it if I took you this time?” The boy swallowed, “i-it seems like my lower body is still really sensitive so ah…will it hurt?” Tony sighed and stood dropping his boxers to the floor before reaching for the lube.

“Do you want it to?”

Peter quickly shook his head; of course he didn’t want that, he was terrified of the thought of getting hurt in a way like this.

“Then it won’t,” was all Tony said before he knelt back down between Peter’s legs to rub his tights. The boy liked how that felt and he began to think that those two pale, stilts were not as bad as he originally thought.

Tony watched his expression and waited for him to relax before he wrapped his fingers around Peter’s cock pumping it a few times. The boy moaned and Tony smirked, “put your legs up a little bit and spread them, yeah just like this.”

Tony coated his fingers in lube and carefully rubbed Peter’s entrance without applying any pressure. Peter shivered from the cold lube but didn’t protest, he just went stiff as a board. Tony sighed, “Peter if you don’t want to I can stop.”

The boy quickly shook his head, “no! I mean don’t stop, it looked…you looked like you were having a great time when you rode me, I-I want to try it.” Tony nodded and kissed his knee, his goatee brushing over the sensitive skin.

Peter chuckled and pulled his knee away, “that tickles.” Tony grinned and continued rubbing Peter’s hole but also began to litter the inside of his tights with kisses.

The boy was torn between laughing and tensing, in the end he settled for laughing. Tony grinned against his tight and slowly pushed a finger inside. Peter stopped and tensed up but he didn’t make a sound.

Tony sighed again not sure how he should approach this situation. He wanted to pull out but Peter quickly grabbed his wrist, “no, please just give me a moment.” Tony nodded and gently caressed his tight.

An idea sparked in his mind and he began to lick Peter’s now flaccid cock. Peter blinked before he let out a moan and relaxed a little. Tony smiled and sucked in the tip and it hardened under his care.

Peter bucked up and Tony took this as a cue to slowly move his finger. The boy didn’t even realize he was moving as he threw his head back and moaned loudly as Tony took him almost all the way into his mouth.

Tony moved his finger deep inside the boy and slowly out again while grabbing the base of his cock and slowly letting go of it to lick the tip with the broad of his tongue. A shiver went through the boy and Tony noticed how he curled his toes.

Feeling a little more confident he added a finger and slowly pushed in, giving Peter all the time he needed to either adjust or stop him. Peter groaned and looked down at Tony, “p-please, do that again.”

Tony chuckled, “that?” He again licked Peter’s sensitive cock and the boy bucked up again, clenching around Tony’s fingers. The human smiled rather pleased and began to move his fingers searching for his lover’s special spot.

Peter breathed heavily and Tony was happy with the reaction he got from the boy. He was relaxed and aroused. The human slowly pumped the younger’s cock and moved his fingers in as deep as possible.

His fingers brushed Peter’s prostate and the boy jumped letting out a loud breathy moan. Tony chuckled, “ah there it is, how do you feel?” Peter swallowed trying to find words, “hot.” Was all he got out and Tony smiled, leaning down to kiss him. It was like he always imagined and he loved every second of it.

Tony smiled at Peter, “another finger and I think we are ready for the next step, what do you think.” Peter chuckled weakly, “I ah I don’t think I am able to think at all.”

Both laughed and Tony scissored his fingers open before pushing his thumb in, too. Peter let out a needy sound that very much delighted Tony as he worked him open his other hand still slowly pumping the boy’s cock.

Tony slowly took his hand away to pour a generous amount of lube on his cock. Peter looked up at that and Tony hated how his brows knitted together as he watched him.

“Do you trust me?”

Peter swallowed and nodded, “yes, I do.” Tony smiled grabbing his cock again and leaning forward to kiss him, “then please, don’t look like that I will do my best to make you feel good, even better than I already are.”

Peter nodded and laid back, taking a deep breath before giving a thumbs up. Tony pulled his fingers out before pressing the tip of his own cock against the slick hole, easily pushing in the tip.

Peter tensed up immediately, but after a few soothing strokes on his tights he relaxed and Tony slowly pushed in, one hand still on his cock to overshadow the discomfort with pleasure.

“You are doing good Peter, how do you feel?”

“Ah weird, kind of…full b-but it doesn’t hurt.”

Tony smiled and bowed down to kiss his chest before moving in deeper and kissing his lips, “good to hear, now look at me please.” Peter did lift his head a little and even managed to smile at his human.

They shared a look full of love and adoration before Peter wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck to pull him into a real deep kiss. Tony began to pump Peter’s cock in sync with his still shallow thrusts and the boy moaned loudly against his mouth.

“Gods Peter you feel so good, do you-do you want to get on top?”

The boy shook his head, “n-no keep doing that I-I want to be spoiled.” Tony chuckled and nodded biting his lower lip before pulling out a little more and pushing in all the way. Peter threw his head back moaning loud enough that, had Bruce still been in the Lab, he probably would have heard it.

Tony groaned and put all his will into not spilling too soon and not slamming into the boy. He tried to keep his slow pace concentrating on making this as comfortable for the boy as possible.

Peter gasped and dug his nails into Tony as he felt the tension rise inside of him. Tony moaned, “oh that is kinky.” Peter raised an eyebrow and Tony laughed, “don’t ask just enjoy.” He rubbed one of Peter’s nipples until it was hard and the boy groaned and arched his back.

“Can ah can I go faster?”

Peter nodded, “y-yes please.” Tony chuckled at how breathless he sounded and he began to pick up the pace. He was still going slow and careful but the little speed he picked up already had an effect on the boy.

Peter squirmed and gasped, grabbed the sheets and bit his lips as he began to instinctively meet Tony’s thrusts with the movement of his hips. It felt great for both of them but Tony knew that if he delayed his release any longer he would explode.

“Shit Peter, I-I don’t think I can hold it any longer, gods do you mind if I come inside?”

Peter moaned and shook his head, “no, I want to feel it all.” Both moaned and Tony swiped his thumb over Peter’s tip a few times and together with a few well aimed thrusts the boy let out a hoarse sound as he came all over his chest.

Tony watched and the sight of the boy being in such utter bliss pushed him over the edge and he spilled his seed deep into him with a loud moan. With the last bit of strength Tony managed to pull out and lay next to Peter and both panted and fell asleep with their hands entwined.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So I took so long to uptdate because I am trying to finish my other fiction and I wasn't able to do both this time so this sorry chapter is all I got for your right now and I don't know when the next one will come

Please accept my apology by presenting you this welll...teaser? For a fic I plan to post when I have more time to write.

 

My treasure

All Peter wanted to do was to save his friend and secret crush Lizzie, what he ended up doing was losing his virginity. How the one thing led to the other is quite an interesting tale but Peter would blush forever if someone asked him for it.

The village Peter lived in was located far off any big city, hidden between mountains and forests. Still people travelled far to come to them for it was said that their elder could see the future and cure sicknesses.

But like every place their village had a dark secret, one that was well hidden from outsiders and children alike. Once every five years a young girl, a virgin would be sacrificed to the one who protected their village.

It would be random, a lottery in which every girl at the age of sixteen had to participate in. Peter had always wondered what happened with the girls that disappeared but he had always been too young to understand. This year however he and his friend turned seventeen and Lizzie was forced to participate.

The young children were told that the “winner” of the lottery would go to a far off land and marry a handsome prince, it was easier that way. Now however Peter found out the truth as Lizzie was crying in his arms.

“Today they will give me my last meal at the feast and then tie me to a post on top of the pine mountain and then I will be stolen.”

Peter always wanted to hold her in his arms like this; he just always hoped that the circumstances would be better. He sighed and held her closer, ignoring the guard that was send by the eldest to watch over Lizzie. Had he not been there he would have suggested to her that they would just take each other’s virginity.

Oh god that sounded so weird even in his own thoughts.

They parted because the older women were gathering and urging Lizzie to come with them so she could be dressed and made up for the feast. Peter only let her go after squeezing her hand one last time and sighed.

He walked home and it felt like he was moving through water, everything seemed to go slower and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. His aunt was busy weaving a basket she would sell at the market. It was their main income and earned them just enough so they could survive.

May looked at him with a sad expression, “are you alright sweetie?” Peter sat down on the floor next to her and rested her head on her shoulder, “Lizzie is going to die, how could I?” His aunt sighed, “we actually don’t know what happens to them you know, a few of the women actually came back.”

Peter lifted his head, his gaze hopeful but May’s expression was clouded, “though they are never quite the same again.” The boy slumped down again and let out a long sigh, “this is not fair.”

May cradled his head and nodded, “yeah it isn’t but believe me this is better than the alternative. We actually tried to get rid of this custom but only one week after we failed to present a sacrifice there was a big fire that destroyed half of our harvest and forest, I was very young back then but I remember the terrible fire. So we need to do this.”

Peter shook his head, “what is this beast? Maybe we should just try and kill it.” May looked at him and chuckled, “oh Peter, stop it you are no hero material, you are my sweet boy who cannot even kill a fish.”

The boy blushed and looked away, she was right; he was and would never be a hero. That would just be silly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So please tell me what you think  
> Feedback is always appreciated  
> Thanks for reading


	20. Run before you walk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news everyone   
> I found the time to write another chapter so I hope you didnt yet abandon me  
> I hope you will enjoy this

Loki tried to remain calm and composed but it was harder than it looked. They had made their plan to escape but their success was far from granted.

The prince took a deep breath and nodded at Angie who began to push against the boulder. Meanwhile Loki tried to simply not get in her way.

Angie had demonstrated her strength to him before but he was still impressed and a little terrified. The mermaid pushed the boulder away and the scraping sound made Loki curl up his tail, god that sounded awful.

As soon as the gap between the rocks was wide enough Angie stopped and swam through it. Loki followed behind surprised that there wasn’t a guard around.

Loki took the lead and easily found their way out but unfortunately right into a group of guards. Four large mermen floated in the water talking about something as the prince and his mermaid rounded the corner.

The halted immediately and the mermen looked at them dumbfounded until one of them spoke up.

“How the hell?”

Loki glanced at Angie pulling her in another tunnel away from them, “quick we need to get away from them.” Angie looked around, “do you even know where we are going?” Loki chuckled, “I have no idea.” The girl groaned and shook her head but followed nevertheless.

Loki hissed as he heard the guards following and yelling after them but he didn’t slow down. He couldn’t and as he saw the tunnel that led up and out of the cave system, he almost let out a shout of relieve.

They made their way through the tunnel ignoring the screams and Loki was almost blinded by the light that hit him. Angie followed closely after, looking rather confused by her surroundings.

“Fast, Asgard is a few miles south of here.”

Angie nodded and shot, with a surprising speed, through the water. Loki let out another impressed sound and followed behind, he was the fastest swimmer in Asgard, but he had to admit that he liked the competition.

Suddenly Angie stopped and looked around with her eyebrows drawn together. Loki also stopped and looked around but he was unable to spot anything weird.

“Angie?”

The mermaid lifted her hand shutting him up efficiently, before turning around and sniffing. Loki frowned and opened his mouth to ask as a shadow appeared over him. Angie shot out of the way and Loki tried to do the same but for the first time he wasn’t fast enough.

A net, obviously one made by humans, was thrown over him and thanks to the heavy weights, pinned him to the ocean floor. Angie turned to look at him but Loki let out a scream as she tried to help him.

“No! Get away, go to Asgard, find my mother or my brother, they will help you! Go!”

Angie hesitated but as the mermen attempted to go after her too, she quickly nodded at Loki and shot away through the water.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony smiled as Peter managed stand up and hold his balance all on his own. They had been trying to get to that point the entire morning and finally Peter was steadily standing on his two feet.

The exercise was Peter sitting on the couch and trying to stand up keeping his balance without falling over. Scared that he would hurt himself, Tony had moved the coffee table away and put some pillows on the floor.

The boy had just rolled his eyes, but in the end he didn’t say anything since he was eager to get to practice. Tony had watched and encouraged him and now that Peter was finally standing he clapped.

“Impressive, now can you try to take a step towards me?”

The former merman licked his lips and stared at his feet, curling his toes nervously. Tony could see that he was thinking way too hard about all of it and sighed.

“Peter look at me,” he offered his hand and Peter looked at it, “just do it, you are a human now, your brain should do most of the work on its own.” Again the boy licked his lips nodding, “I, I will try, you will catch me if I fall right?”

Tony smiled, “always dear, now lift your foot and take a step.” Peter nodded and lifted his right foot swaying a little and Tony had to fight the urge to jump at him and steady the boy immediately.

Carefully Peter took a step, again swaying but he grabbed Tony’s still outstretched hand and stumbled in his arms. The human wrapped his arms tightly around him and kissed his head, “amazing, you made your first step, love.”

Peter grinned at him and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

“Again!”

Tony laughed at how excited Peter was but nodded and placed him on the couch, taking his position on the other side of the pillows reaching out for his beautiful lover.

They repeated this again and again until Peter was safely taking a stroll around the living room without falling or swaying. Tony watched with pride and grinned at Bruce who just came up from the lab downstairs.

The scientist smiled at the boy, “oh already up and walking I see.” Peter laughed and turned to walk over to Bruce, Tony had convinced him to wear a thin shirt for modesty reasons.

“Yes! I can finally walk, isn’t that amazing?”

Bruce chuckled and nodded, “it is, I am proud of you, I truly am.” Peter smiled and Bruce ruffled his hair making the boy giggle. Tony watched but he wasn’t amused by that, he almost growled but managed to keep quiet.

Peter chuckled and looked at Tony with his big, beautiful eyes and bright smile. To the human he was just perfect in every way and he wanted all of this for himself but well he couldn’t and he knew it.

Tony walked up to the other two and put a hand on Peter’s shoulder, “as soon as he can walk for a longer time I will take him to town and show him how normal humans live.”

Peter’s eyes shone with excitement but Bruce looked disapprovingly at his employer.

“You think this is a good idea?”

Tony knitted his eyebrows together, “sure why shouldn’t it be?” The scientist licked his lips and took off his glasses, fiddling around with them. Peter frowned at Bruce, “I would love to go Bruce, Tony isn’t forcing me or something.”

Bruce shook his head and looked at Peter, “this is not what I have an issue with, it is rather that you are a merman Peter and I don’t think the human world is…I think you would be overwhelmed by it.”

Tony pursed his lips and Peter looked rather confused by those words. Honestly he didn’t understand what Bruce’s issue was but Tony would surely be able to explain this to him. The two men stared at each other and even Peter was able to feel the tension between them and so he slowly moved away to sit on the couch.

Finally Bruce looked away, putting his glasses back on while turning to leave. Tony relaxed a little bit before glancing at Peter.

“I-I will just go, I have done all I could do today but I need to consult a few colleagues. I think I will be back tomorrow.”

Tony nodded and Peter watched as Bruce left, “bye Bruce, see you tomorrow.” The older man waved at him before he left and the last bit of tension left Tony and he turned to walk up to Peter.

“How about Sushi? I am in the mood for some.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki screamed and fought the Jotun every step of the way he only stopped when they bound him, gagged him and threatened to cut his fins so he wouldn’t be able to swim anymore. The prince was unsure if they would go through with their threat but he had no intention in finding out.

The guards were not talking and since Loki was unable to, the procession moved quietly and even the people they met on the way talked in hushed voices as they saw their bound prince. Once they were inside the throne cave, Loki was let down in front of the King who looked at him with a disapproving expression.

Loki glared up to him without faltering under his gaze. The king made a gesture and one of the guards moved to pull the gag away from the prince’s mouth.

The two royals kept staring at each other without talking and the guards slowly retreated, melting into the background. Loki was still tied up, but it did nothing to make him appear less regal and proud, his Sire obviously noticed since he angrily bared his teeth.

“How did you do it?”

Loki smirked, “I have my ways.” Laufey shot up and growled loudly, with a mighty flip of his tail he was in front of his son but Loki didn’t even flinch. He refused to give in to the man.

“Did you really think you could get away? That I wouldn’t capture you? This is my realm, boy, you cannot win here.”

Loki still smiled, “I will get away, Sire in fact I am quite certain that I will soon swim freely again.” Laufey let out a humourless laugh and waved his hand again.

“Throw him into his brother’s old room, maybe he will learn when he stays in there for a few days.” Loki frowned but the guards already moved to comply to the king’s order.

 

Angie watched from afar, as Loki was taken away and she sighed heavily. She was unsure what to do, Loki helped her flee but he also was the reason she was in this mess in the first place. So she had rather mixed feelings about all this.

 _Go to Asgard_ , she groaned and rubbed her face, “yeah sure just go into a hostile realm seek out the queen or the crown prince and get them to start a war, easiest thing in the world.”

The mermaid shook her head and looked around, she could just leave, she could just go back to the other mermaids and continue live her life but she hesitated. Loki had become her friend, could she abandon him, also she held a healthy amount of hate for the King and his stupid son.

Letting out another sigh she turned to swim south, she didn’t know where Asgard was located but she could feel where the waters turned warmer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter kissed every inch of skin he could reach and Tony grinned as he tried not to move. The sun was low in the sky but the tiles of the patio were still warm under the towel he had spread over them.

Peter had convinced Tony to take a swim in the pool and Tony had accepted as soon as Peter had promised him to not overdo it and be careful. He may be a creature of the sea but that didn’t mean he could swim with his new legs.

Now they were all wrinkled up and had decided it was a good idea to dry off in the sun. Tony was on his back while Peter straddled him, littering his body with his kisses and affection. Well it was not like Tony exactly complained.

Peter nipped at his collarbone and Tony gasped feeling his already half hard cock harden further. The boy chuckled and sat up to look down at his human lover.

“You like that?”

Tony grinned and jerked his hips slightly so his cock poked Peter in the back.

“What do you think?”

The boy laughed and let his hand roam over Tony’s chest. His thumbs briefly brushing his nipples and Peter couldn’t hold the smirk as Tony sucked in his breath at that. Peter began to move so Tony’s cock was now against his ass and he slowly began to wriggle a little making the human growl.

Peter loved how he was able to drive him insane with these little movements alone.

“Touch yourself.”

The boy blinked and looked down at Tony in surprise, he honestly hadn’t expected that. The human looked at him with lustful eyes and his pink tongue darted out to lick his lips. Peter swallowed.

Slowly he lifted his hand and palmed himself through his swimming trunks, his own cock was not completely hard yet but as soon as he was touched Peter could feel the growth. Holding back a moan he rubbed his palm up and down as these stupid clothes began to feel way too tight and uncomfortable.

Tony put both hands on his hips and tugged at the waistband.

“Take them off, I want to see everything.”

Peter almost jumped to his feet before he quickly pushed down the trunks and after thinking for a second he also got rid of Tony’s. His human didn’t complain so he was sure that this was okay.

Carefully he once again straddled the man, enjoying the view of Tony, wearing nothing but the emerald Peter had given to him. He was claimed, he was his. The thought alone was enough to make Peter moan and he quickly fisted his cock.

Tony growled and put his hands on Peter’s hips again. The boy moaned loudly as he slowly stroked his cock swiping the tip with his thumb each time he reached it. He was aware that Tony watched him closely and that he probably should be ashamed of the noises he made but he just couldn’t.

It felt too good, too forbidden to stop and soon he was kneeling, moving his hips, thrusting into his hand all while Tony was under him, watching, growling. Peter breathed heavily throwing his head back with his eyes closed as he let out another moan.

“I want to see you come Peter, come for me,” Tony’s voice was a low growl and Peter looked down on him, meeting his lustful gaze.

“I ah I want to kiss you.”

Tony smirked, “I am all yours baby.” Peter whimpered and leaned down to capture the older man’s lips with his, they tasted so good. Moaning loudly he straightened up again now desperately fucking his fist while Tony’s fingers tightly gripped his narrow hip.

“Peter, come!”

With a silent scream Peter threw back his head and froze in his movement as he came all over Tony’s chest, only his hips were shaking slightly. Tony moaned and pulled the boy down to wrap his arms around him kissing him deeply not minding that Peter wasn’t yet able to properly respond to him.

The boy tried to catch his breath as he felt Tony rut against his backside. He held Peter in place while he pushed his hard and leaking cock between the cheeks and moaned into the boy’s ear.

Peter rested on his chest, nuzzling his neck and Tony kissed and nipped at his shoulder. The thrusts became more quick and harder. Peter smiled and let Tony have his way with him, enjoying the closeness while the human’s slick precum was spread all over his rim.

Tony let out a groan as he stilled, hugging Peter tightly and spilling his seed, the boy could feel a part of it hitting his back. He chuckled and lifted his head to pull the human into a nice and gentle kiss they both needed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As it turned out with brother Laufey actually meant Thor and not how Loki assumed Byleist, and Thor’s old room was a hole in the ground. Loki was pushed into it and then a large boulder was placed over it only leaving a small space for the water to circulate.

Loki had yelled at the guard not expecting a reaction but only wanting to let out some of his frustration. As expected they ignored him and left him alone in his new prison.

The prince had some time to think about everything that had happened and his heart began to ache as he began to think about Peter. It felt like years since he had seen his friend and he wondered how he was doing.

Loki still hated Odin for banishing Peter, in his opinion he should have killed the human and be done with it; this would have been punishment enough for his friend. The prince vowed to himself that he would visit his friend once he was back in Asgard.

He briefly wondered if Peter missed him too.

The prince shook his head and curled up to keep what little warmth his body had from leaving. He would get out of here, Angie would get help, he was sure of that.

 

Angie had reached Asgard at the end of the day and she felt like she could sleep for ages after that swim. Her tail ached and her arms felt heavy as she looked at the entrance to the cave.

The Aesir were not known for their inconspicuous so it was relatively easy to find them. Still she hesitated to go inside. She could take on the guard but she had no desire to do so.

With a heavy sigh she slowly swam towards the merman who stiffed and gripped his spear tighter, pointing the tip at her.

“Who are you!”

Angie rolled her eyes; she hated to get yelled at.

“I am Angrboda of Jotunheim; I am here to see the queen by order of Prince Loki.”

The merman’s eyebrows shot up and he gaped at her for way too long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter was surprised when Pepper sent Tony to his lab with a stern look because she wanted to talk to him. He liked the woman but he was confused by her actions and honestly he was kind of scared of her too.

Now he was seated on the couch and she in an armchair across from him, smiling a little timidly. The former merman was unsure of what to say or do so he simply smiled at her.

After a while Pepper sighed and rested her head in one hand, “he turned you into a human.” Peter nodded and shrugged, “well kind of, it was an accident actually. I went to his lab and this stuff that turned me, spilled on me so I guess it was both our fault.”

The redhead shook her head and looked at him with a tired expression, “no, no Peter this isn’t your fault at all, this is on Tony he…he always does such stupid things, thinking everything will just turn out right. A few months ago he had the idea to make another AI that had the potential to turn evil and threaten all of humanity, if I hadn’t been there and forbid it, he would probably have gone through with it.”

Peter didn’t know what to say about that so he just nodded. The woman sighed heavily and looked him up and down, she seemed tired and concerned.

“Are you well at least?”

Peter smiled at her, “I am very well actually, Tony takes good care of me.” The woman had her eyebrows knitted together as if she had a hard time believing any of it. Now Peter was even more confused, didn’t she know Tony quite well? Didn’t she know how nice, caring and lovable he was?

“I-I really mean it, being with him is great I love it.”

The woman still seemed sceptical and Peter was at a loss of what to say, why wouldn’t she believe him? Pepper sighed again and got up gripping her elbows with her hand as she walked towards the doors to the patio.

She looked deep in thought as she looked outside, watching a bird landing at the pool and fly away again when it sated its thirst. Peter waited but ultimately he grabbed the tablet that lay next to him.

Quickly he whispered against it, “Jarvis? What should I do?” The AI answered through the tablet and Peter vowed to learn the human writing since it would have been a lot easier just to write a message to his little helper.

Jarvis voice was as quiet as possible as he answered, “I suggest you let her think a little longer before offering her a refreshment. She will probably be grateful for the distraction.”

Peter nodded, knowing that Jarvis would see that and watched Pepper curiously. Slowly he got up and walked towards the kitchen, “ah Miss Potts?”

With a little gasp she spun around a hand over her heart, “oh sorry Peter was in thought, wh-what did you say?” Peter cleared his throat, “ah actually I was about to offer you something to drink.”

He walked up to the fridge and opened it, peeking inside. The redhead nodded, “ah yes a coke please, I-I need sugar, lots and lots of sugar.” Peter smiled at her and picked up a can for her and a smoothie for himself. Tony loved that he drank those, awfully healthy manifestations of evil, as he liked to call them.

Meanwhile the woman walked up to the couch and sat down with a heavy sigh. Peter slowly made his way back still wondering what the whole issue was and why she was here in the first place.

He offered her the can and she immediately cracked it open to take a sip while he took her seat in the chair. Pepper sighed again and put the can down licking her lips.

“I am sorry Peter I know this must all seem weird to you, I am just concerned about you and Tony, it…it is my job to care and Tony tends to be reckless and self-harming. At times at least.”

The woman sighed and took another large sip from her drink before smiling at the boy, “but if you are happy and he treats you well I am satisfied, in fact I think you are doing some real good on him, at least he looks like he gets a good night’s rest ever so often.”

Peter actually giggled and blushed a little, “yeah when we get to sleep.” Pepper frowned before she understood, she shot up and let out a scream.

“TONY!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angie ignored the stares that were so obvious that she almost growled at the stupid Aesir. Some of them even were openly gaping at her as if she was a freak.

She was so glad Loki was different; in fact he seemed to be the perfect in between of the two people.

The guard led her through the cave system while another guard followed her for whatever reason and soon enough they entered a large cave that held two overly extravagant thrones. She almost rolled her eyes again.

The cave was empty except for the guards and Angie groaned at that, she was tired and wanted to get this over with as quick as possible. Sooner though that she expected a golden mermaid entered the cave looking frantic and just as exhausted as Angie felt.

The mermaid shot towards Angie who took a stance to defend herself if needed. The guards were alarmed too and Angie realized that this must be the queen so she frowned at her, “ah Frigga?”

The mermaid stopped right in front of her, “yes, you know about my son? Where is he, how is he? Oh God please tell me he is alright?” Angie blinked a little confused and slightly overwhelmed.

“I uh-,” she began but was cut off as someone else entered the cave. This time she undoubtedly recognized the merman as king and immediately she lifted her chin and looked at the merman in defiance. She would not cower in front of any man.

Odin looked at Angie with suspicion and something that looked akin to disgust.

“And who are you that you dare to come here?”

The King’s voice was loud and commanded respect but the young Jotun remained unimpressed. She simply crossed her arms in front of her chest, noting that another merman entered. He was tall and broad with golden hair like the queen.

Angie guessed that this was Thor. Slowly she focused on the King again, tilting her head slightly as she answered his question in a calm almost bored manner.

“I am Loki’s intended.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce rubbed the bridge of his nose as Tony paced around in the lab. The genius was angrily waving his hand in the air as he talked.

“I cannot believe you told Pepper, I mean seriously Bruce what kind of science bro are you?”

He stopped for a moment to look at him with anger in his face but Bruce, knowing very well that his ranting wasn’t over yet, kept his silence.

Tony began pacing again, “she already thinks me being with a merman is bad what do you think she will do to me when she finds out that he is basically a human teenager now, did you tell her that we are lovers? Oh dear gods please tell me you didn’t!”

Bruce sighed and took his glasses off to rub his eyes with both hands, he was so tired.

“No I didn’t Tony, why would I? And for the record I didn’t tell her but she found my notes on my desk and read them, it wasn’t my intention.”

“Then why did you let them lie around like this? Dammit Bruce you are a genius like I am, are you not?”

The greying man raised an eyebrow, giving Tony a dry look.

“I am and don’t mock me for that little mistake, I am not the one who ruined Peter’s life after all.”

Tony opened his mouth, only to close it again. He shook his head and groaned loudly.

“This is bad; this is so bad you know why? Because she is up there, talking to Peter finding out everything we did together and he is absolutely oblivious about all of it. Hell she will probably tell him that it is a bad idea sleeping with me, that he is a kid and I should protect him and all that crap.”

Bruce rolled his eyes, “Tony you are being dramatic and by the way, yes you should protect him aren’t you…Iron Man now?” Tony chuckled at that and glanced at the newspaper he had pinned to the wall.

It showed a picture of him in his suit taking care of some…business. Since he built the suit he had hardly used it only on a few occasions and he never told anyone outside from Bruce and Pepper that he was Iron Man.

Of course a smart person could maybe make the link between a multimillion dollar suit that had the best tech in the world and a now philanthropist, genius engineer with almost endless resources but up until now, no one did.

So his identity had remained protected and his family and friends unharmed. Tony had used the suit on three big occasions, one he took out the terrorists that should have kidnapped him if he had gone to Afghanistan as it had been originally planned.

Two when a terrorist who called himself the Mandarin threatened the US and called out for him personally, he had destroyed him as soon as Jarvis found out where the video was sent from. It was really easy and almost laughable.

And at last when some maniac started to create high end weapons and accidently blew up a ferry that was about to sink, but honestly hadn’t he been in New York that day he wouldn’t have helped, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

So he made it into the newspaper and Pepper had yelled at him a lot over the phone while Peter had laughed his ass off. But all fun aside Tony kind of liked being a hero; he just didn’t like the commitment so he was only a part time hero but a full time lover to his beloved little merman.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair looking at the scientist who watched him leaning casually up against the workbench.

“She is going to kill me, isn’t she?”

Bruce shrugged, “probably.”

“Sir, Miss Potts is asking you to the living room.”

“Oh, great.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was it   
> Thanks for reading   
> I hope I will not take this long to update again but I won't make any promises right now  
> Please tell me what you think in the comments below


	21. For all the lovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise another chapter   
> Plot and smut yay

Tony had a hard time fighting the urge to cower in front of Pepper, damn that woman was scary. The redhead glared at him while Peter sat on the couch looking rather confused by the two humans.

“He is a child Tony and you think it appropriate to have sex with him?”

Tony lifted his hands up in defence, “hey he is an adult by his people’s standard. Right Peter?” The boy blinked, “ah yes I am a fully grown adult.”

Pepper looked at the boy, “Peter how old are you?” The former merman frowned, “I am sixteen.” The woman looked at Tony with an angry expression, “he could be your son for goodness sake!”

Tony shook his head, “no he couldn’t I am not a merman so…” The woman shook her head and threw her hands up in frustration.

“Tony you know what I mean, you should know better. He is a child compared to you and honestly how should _he_ know better? He can’t but you can so why don’t you _actually know better_?”

Tony sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, the emerald danced around on his chest. His eyes found Peter who looked at him with a mix of confusion and concern. He looked back at the woman.

“Pepper I…I think I…I love him.”

Now Tony turned fully at the shocked boy, “Peter I-I love you.” Pepper who looked just as shocked as Peter let out a sigh.

“I…I will leave you two now, I think you have a lot to talk about.”

With that the woman left them, while the two stared at each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Odin laughed, Thor gaped and Frigga looked really surprised. Angie rubbed her face and let out a groan, why was everyone crazy? It was Frigga who managed to find her words again.

“You are Loki’s intended, like you are engaged?”

Angrboda shrugged looking at the queen, her face a mask of boredom.

“Well Laufey wants us to marry but well we haven’t decided if we will go along with it but…yeah we like each other.”

Frigga looked her up and down, “ah you are a Jotun, are you not?” Angie looked at the queen with a dry look, “of course I am, what did you expect?” The queen slightly blushed and mumbled a name that sounded like Peter, Angie didn’t ask for she didn’t care.

Odin finally found his composure again, casually lifting his son’s chin up so his mouth wasn’t hanging open anymore. His one eye looked at Angie with a weirdly stern expression.

“Laufey wants that huh? Well pray tell why?”

The mermaid sighed; she was doing this a lot recently, “because he wants Loki to rule over Jotunheim since his other son is a complete idiot. I am one of the rare females who is able to live among our people so he thought I was cut out to be queen.”

Both royals exchanged a look while Thor knitted his eyebrows together in confusion. Angie was sure if he would go to her old home the other females would kill each other for a chance to mate with him.

“What do you mean you are able to live among people?”

The Jotun raised an eyebrow and Frigga chuckled. Odin sighed, “I will explain that to you later, now what are you here for girl?” The mermaid didn’t like to be called that but she was too tired to argue.

“Laufey and Loki made a deal, but Laufey didn’t hold up his end of the bargain so we tried to leave. The fact that I am here alone and telling you that should be enough of an explanation.”

The two royals again shared a look, but this time it was Frigga who spoke.

“You look terribly exhausted, dear. Maybe we should talk again tomorrow after a good night’s rest and a nice fresh meal how does that sound.”

Angie smiled at the queen, removing her arms from her chest, “sounds like you are not as barbaric as my people think.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter basically threw himself at the human, hugging him like he was a drowning man. Tony was so surprised he actually let out a quite unmanly yelp.

“Peter, heavens!”

The boy laughed and kissed him deeply.

“Oh god Tony, I love you too.”

He kissed him again, giving the human almost no chance to regain his breath. Tony wrapped his arms around his lover and smiled against his mouth.

When they pulled away he was greeted by Peter’s equally big smile.

“I ah I never wanted to confess to you like that but well, can’t help it now.”

Peter chuckled and kissed his cheek. He went back to stand on his own two feet and smiled up at Tony, “I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way as me and after you accepted my mating gift I was too embarrassed to ask.”

Tony knitted his eyebrows together, “mating gift?” Peter blushed, “ah your kind uses uh rings I think.” Tony stared at him dumbfounded.

“Kid, honestly don’t think I understand.”

“Sir, I think Master Peter is referring to an engagement ring,” Jarvis chimed in. Tony gaped at the young boy unable to say anything.

Had he unknowingly accepted the proposal of a merman?

“I uh I don’t know what to say.”

Peter’s face fell as he looked at Tony, “is this not what you want?” Tony swallowed and put a hand on Peter’s cheek, “Peter, love things work different around here I…am just surprised, that’s all.”

The boy didn’t look convinced but nodded and pulled away from the human. Tony felt his heart clench. He didn’t want to insult or discourage the boy but this was a little much to swallow for the self-proclaimed playboy.

Peter looked so utterly lost and Tony would have slapped himself if it would have made situation any better.

“Peter I…am not turning you down I am just surprised, humans are a lot less subtle about these things.”

The boy nodded, “ah yes, sorry I forgot about that.” Tony sighed, “Peter wait.” The human wanted to stop his lover from going but Peter already opened the door to the patio and stepped outside.

Tony was ready to follow but Jarvis spoke up.

“Sir, director Fury is here to see you.”

The genius frowned, “director who?”

“Direktor Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sir.”

“Fury?” Tony asked and shook his head, “I don’t want to see the two eyed Mace Windue, tell him that Jarvis.”

“I am very sorry Sir, but my protocols are being overwritten.”

Tony frowned and turned around as the doors slid open revealing the stern looking man and a woman with dark hair and an equally dark expression.

The genius didn’t take kindly to someone messing with his AI and so he scowled at both of them.

“Get out of here, immediately!”

The one-eyed man lifted his hands to calm the upset man down. The woman behind him had her hand at her weapon.

“Calm down Stark we are here to talk.”

Tony snorted and gestured at the woman, “tell that to your gunslinger.” Fury glanced at the woman and made a gesture with his hands so she would take her hand off her weapon.

Tony still glared at him, “this isn’t the best of times so even in fear of repeating myself to you, leave.” The man sighed and walked closer to the upset genius.

“Stark, I do understand you have your reservations but we need to talk,” Fury said his eye roaming the living room.

Tony narrowed his eyes; the man was searching for something, or someone. With a defiant look in his face Tony crossed his arms in front of his chest; he needed to talk to Peter not quarrel with the weird man.

“You know I could make you leave,” he said moving over to the couch and sitting down in hopes it would keep their focus on him and away from the patio.

Fury indeed followed him and sat down in an armchair, looking at him with a stern expression. The woman stayed where she was and crossed her arms in front of her chest, but her gaze was fixed on Tony. Good.

“I know you could, with that little suit of yours we are no match for you, I admit that but,” Fury leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees as he talked, “I don’t think you want to do that.”

Tony wished he had a drink in his hand, a strong one with a lot of ice in it.

Fury continued, ignoring Tony’s annoyed expression.

“I am here to talk to you about the merman you had in your care. We know he is back and we need to talk about the threat his kind poses for humanity.”

Tony rolled his eyes, “as I told you before they are not a threat, they don’t like us, they don’t want to have anything to do with us and as old and traditional as they are, they won’t change anytime soon.”

Fury raised an eyebrow, “how can you be sure of that?” Tony shrugged casually, “I met their king, he wasn’t thrilled to meet me, he almost got me killed.” The man shifted in his place, tapping his chin with his index finger.

“And how, pray tell, did you avoid that?”

Tony gave him a shit-eating grin, “by being my usual charming self.” Fury growled and Tony glared at him, “I suggest you leave my premises now director you are not welcome.”

The woman suddenly straightened up and the patio door slid open, Tony turned and cursed internally as Peter walked in. The boy paused as he saw the strangers, “uh sorry I uh I didn’t want to interrupt.”

His eyes focused on Tony who quickly stood and walked over to him. Fury narrowed his eye as he looked at the boy, “and who are you?” Peter looked at the one-eyed man, “I am Peter.”

The woman, god Tony had to learn her name, narrowed her eyes first at Peter then at Tony, “he is a minor, Stark are you sleeping with a minor?” It was obvious she came to that conclusion by the way Peter was dressed.

He wore nothing but a loose fitting pair of boxers and one of Tony’s shirts that were way too big for his narrow frame. Tony groaned inwardly, yes Peter looked like he had clearly put his claim on him.

He should buy him some decent clothing.

Peter frowned at her, “I am an adult.” Tony nodded and quickly went to stand next to the boy, “he is, now get lost you two before I call my suit.”

Fury slowly stood; he clasped his hands behind his back and stared at Peter. The boy shrunk a little and moved to stand behind his human; he didn’t like the angry man.

“Peter huh, like Peter the merman?”

The boy tensed and Tony tilted his head, “the last time I checked, Peter was a relatively common name and he,” he pointed at Peter, “had two legs and not a fishtail. So again get lost.”

Fury ignored him and moved closer. Tony growled, he had enough of this, “Jarvis, power up the suit and sent it up, I think I need to empathise my words a little.”

The two intruders scowled at Tony but Fury backed off and they moved to the door. Tony glared at them but before they left, Fury turned around to Tony once more.

“This is not over Stark, I need to ensure humanities safety and I will get my answers.”

With that he turned and they left just in time for the suit to walk up the stairs. Tony smirked as he saw how the woman looked at it and her eyes widened a little, did she honestly think Tony made empty threats?

“Who was that?” Peter asked worry in his voice and Tony sighed. He ran a hand through his hair before spinning around and kissing his young lover. Peter let out a sound of surprise but immediately relaxed into the kiss.

Tony wrapped his arm around him and sighed, “I wanted to come after you and tell you that I am sorry, I love you and I am yours if you want to put up with me.”

The boy giggled and kissed his nose, “of course I want to, since I met you my life got a lot more interesting.” Tony sighed and kissed Peter’s nose, “I know I caused you a lot of trouble but I hope you see that I am trying to make it all up to you.”

Peter smiled at him; his brown eyes shone warmly, “of course I do, stupid.” Both chuckled and leaned into a deep kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki hissed as the light hit his eyes. He had spent the entire remainder of the day in almost absolute darkness and now as the rock was removed from his prison even the dim light hurt his eyes.

The prince blinked up and glared at the smirking Byleist who looked down on him. The Jotuns pulled him out of the hole and held him tightly in case he decided to swim and try to escape. Not that Loki was able to now, he was cold and hungry and in no mood for a game of tag.

Byleist seemed to sense his state of mind and smiled ordering the guards to let go. In a mock of brotherly affection he put an arm around Loki’s narrow shoulders and led him away from the hole.

“Well how did you like your stay at the special prince suite?”

Loki sighed tiredly, “you know I don’t want your throne right, if we worked together we could make this work.” The prince scoffed, “I don’t believe you Loki, you found yourself a queen so how could I?”

Loki glared at his brother, “I only found her because you threw me into that cave! I never wanted to meet the females, hell they nearly ripped me apart trying to get a piece of me!” The prince stilled and looked at him with dark eyes, “they…wanted you?”

Loki knitted his eyebrows together in surprise, “well yeah, they said I was cute and stuff, I think they wanted to fuck me to death or something like that.” The older prince looked at him and his eyes were as cold as death, “I am going to kill you one way or another.”

Loki jerked backwards knitting his eyebrows strong enough together that it looked like he had only one eyebrow. Honestly he didn’t know what the issue was but he was also too tired and hungry to truly care.

They swam into the cave where they normally ate and Loki was relieved to see that the food was already served. Laufey was seated too. The King looked at his sons his face impassive as he watched them take their seats.

“Good morning father,” Byleist said in a way to satisfied tone. Loki rolled his eyes, it was almost as if he was saying, “hey look at me, I am the good son now.” So silly.

Laufey eyed Loki who deliberately ignored him.

“Well son have you learned your lesson?”

Loki quickly ate before he answered; it was more than possible that Laufey would lock him up again without feeding him.

“Sure,” he said in a dry tone, “make sure you don’t get caught when you try to escape.” Byleist glared at him, but Laufey grinned.

“And like I said before I am not your son!”

This on the other hand wiped the grin off the king’s face. With a lazy wave of his hand the guards grabbed Loki again pulling him away from the table and back into his hole.

 

Angie always knew the Aesir were weird but this was pure insanity.

The mermaid sat on a table enjoying lunch while the royal family fought among themselves. Frigga wanted Loki to be saved while Thor loudly demanded war and Odin well he tried to be diplomatic and by diplomatic he meant to scream at his son as loud as possible.

Angie chewed on some really delicious clams watching the royals with growing amusement.

“We are not starting an all-out war!” Odin yelled again, he was red-faced and furious. Thor apparently didn’t care, “he stole your son, my brother! This is an act of war father, they need to pay!”

“The Jotun are powerful I will not risk my people for only one life, we need to negotiate with Laufey, maybe he will see reason.”

Thor scoffed and even Frigga rolled her eyes at that. Thor hit the stone table and Angie was seriously impressed as the stone cracked.

“Father you are an old man a fool if you believe that monster will ever see reason, Loki is my brother and I will not-,” Odin cut his son off by getting up from his seat, towering over the prince.

“Enough! I will not have you lecture me, boy. You know nothing of war for you grew up during peace. So I will not listen to you any further, you are no king so don’t dare to impose as one.”

With that Odin left the table. Frigga sighed and Thor growled. Angie chuckled and popped a clam into her mouth, “you guys are really funny, you know that?”

 

Later that day the mermaid sat with the queen in her private garden. Angie was surprised just how little the woman was actually doing. In her opinion, that was really weird.

The females at home had always been busy and rarely had time to just sit around and snack on something. If that was what it would be like to be a queen, Angie would surely die of boredom.

Frigga watched her closely and smiled, “what is it dear?” The mermaid shrugged, “this is not what I am used to, things move…slow in Asgard I guess.”

The queen nodded and sighed, “ah yes I fear that is true, my husband, he…he is rather careful with his decisions.” The Queen wanted to talk to her more, but the prince interjected by bursting into the cave.

“Angrboda!”

The mermaid almost groaned, why was he so loud?

“I came to talk to you on an important matter.”

The mermaid sighed, “then talk but don’t shout.”

The prince looked a little sheepishly at her but he indeed lowered his voice. Frigga looked at them both before she rose up, “I will leave you alone then children. Be careful.”

Thor frowned as his mother left but he didn’t say anything.

Angie raised an eyebrow at Thor waiting for him to say something but it suddenly seemed like he was hesitant to talk. The mermaid sighed, “you want me to help you safe Loki right?”

Thor nodded slowly, “I ah I do.” The mermaid gave him a smile, “you are aware that we need to sneak into Jotunheim and face great danger?” Thor nodded again, “I am very well aware.”

The mermaid grinned, “well then, grab a weapon and we shall depart.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Tony moaned loudly as he thrusted into the boy. Peter had his chest on the mattress and his ass high up in the air so Tony was able to access him easily.

The boy had agreed to this position eagerly, it seemed that the idea if his, compared to him, weak human holding him down thrilled him. Tony had pushed him down calling him, his and preparing him just enough so he wouldn’t hurt Peter.

The boy loved every second of it.

Tony was pulling out slowly only to slam in again, it drove them both crazy but they loved it.

“Ah Tony, please!”

“Please what, Peter?”

The boy moaned and gripped the sheets tightly almost ripping them apart as he tensed when Tony hit his prostate again.

“Please let me come I want to come.”

Tony chuckled darkly and tightened his grip on the slender hips. Had it not been for Peter’s healing factor he would be littered in finger shaped bruises.

“I don’t care what you want, brat. You come when I want you to.”

Peter whined but didn’t try to touch himself again. He had tried before and Tony had spanked him a few times before fucking him again.

The red handprints had sadly already disappeared. Tony thought about making some new one, but the little bastard clenched around his cock drawing a grunt from him.

“You little shit; ah you are not getting away with that.”

Peter grinned at him over his shoulder, “make your move old man.” Tony growled and slapped his ass before he picked up the pace. His thrusting was quick, brutal, and short-whiled.

Tony hit Peter’s prostate repeatedly and as the boy clenched down again as he came, Tony was also pushed over the edge.

Both moaned loudly as they spilled and breathed heavily as they was riding out their high.

Peter dropped completely on top of the mattress and Tony pulled out, to drop on his back next to him. They entwined their fingers as they tried to catch their breath again.

“You know what I said was just in the heat of passion right?”

Peter hummed, “I know, don’t worry about it.” They stayed in content silence until Tony could hear the soft regular breathing of the boy and knew he had fallen asleep.

Tony shifted to be able to get a better look at Peter. The former merman looked sweet and peaceful and Tony felt nothing but joy about having him all for himself.

He almost snickered when he thought about Loki. If the little prince knew, what was going on he would probably die from jealousy. With a satisfied smirk he snuggled closer but he didn’t go to sleep since Jarvis spoke up.

“Sir, Dr Banner is asking for you to join him in the lab.”

Tony groaned, “oh god what does he want?”

“Apparently he wants your assistance with the new formula.”

The genius sighed and got off the bed but not before quickly cleaning up Peter and throwing a blanket over him.

With a yawn Tony walked downstairs earning a disapproving look and a sigh from Bruce as he saw that the genius only wore a pair of boxers.  

“Hi Brucie what can I do for you?”

The other man shook his head and turned around, “I would love for you to put on some real clothes but I guess that won’t be happening. So just look at this.”

He tapped his tablet and a formula was projected into the air. Tony’s eyes widened as he read the notes and understood the calculations.

“Bruce is this?”

“Yes,” the older man said with a smile, “this is the key to turn Peter back into a merman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading   
> As always please leave a comment below and let me know what you think  
> Also for those who havent seen it yet I made some Starker porn a while back if you like it check it out  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/16571861


	22. The price we pay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am finally back with the next chapter  
> I originally planned to post something around new year but I got really sick and it took me annoyingly long to get back on my feet  
> So I hope you enjoy it

Tony was pushing his food around on his plate. Everything tasted bland and he didn’t really have an appetite. Peter put the piece of fish he was nibbling at down and knitted his eyebrows together.

“Tony? Are you alright?”

The human looked at his lover and forced a smile, “sorry love I uh I am thinking about stuff.” Peter nodded but he still looked concerned.

Tony wanted to stand up and run away but he knew this was not an option. Bruce’s words still rang in his ears, “if you won’t tell him till tomorrow evening, I will tell him myself.”

Peter watched him and Tony sighed, he would tell him but he didn’t want to let Peter go. He liked the boy just the way he was and he wanted to be together with him.

“I am sorry…I need some fresh air.”

Peter blinked and watched as Tony went to the elevator to get down to the beach. He went outside and walked along the shore to clear his head. Peter was probably worrying that he had done something wrong but Tony needed some space.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thor was not something, someone would call inconspicuous and Angie didn’t like that. It would be hard enough as it was to get into Jotunheim unseen but with a spoiled prince it would be twice as hard.

At least she made him shut up for now. The plan was quite simple, get in, find Loki, free Loki and get the hell out. Well there was too much that could go wrong but they had to try.

Angie led the prince away from Asgard and she was surprised how smoothly everything went, but she probably wouldn’t be able to return since the king would most likely try to kill her for abducting his son.

Not that she cared much, without Loki the place didn’t hold anything of interest to her. Thor followed her without hesitation.

His father was a fool if he believed Loki could be saved through mere words and he would prove it to him. Angie stopped behind a large formation of rocks and turned to Thor.

“Now listen up prince whatever your name is,” she began.

“My name is Thor.”

“Yeah like I said whatever, the Jotuns will not be happy to see either of us but I stand a chance against them while you are just a weak male.”

The prince gaped at her but before he could say something to voice his anger, she continued.

“However if we manage to work together we have a chance to find Loki so I tell you this once more, shut up and do exactly as I say.”

Thor growled but nodded, he had to remind himself that saving Loki was his priority and for that he had to deal with that nasty girl. By the gods if his brother and that girl produced an offspring it would probably roast the entire ocean and all its inhabitants with its sharp tongue.

He shuddered.

Angie ignored him and pulled him along and out of their hiding spot. They swam over the ocean floor and what looked like simple hard rock and sand was in truth hiding an entire race of merpeople.

She was searching for an opening between the rocks that was large enough to let the huge frame of the prince in and that wasn’t an easy task.

“Here, can you squeeze yourself in there?”

Thor grimaced, “no I don’t think so.”

Angie groaned and rubbed her face, “alright you stay here, I am going to go in and get Loki.” Why did she take him with her in the first place?

Before Thor could protest she quickly swam between the sharp edged and disappeared in the dark. The prince let out a frustrated huff.

Why was she treating him like he was just some useless fish? He was a prince for goodness sake. He circled the hole but ultimately decided not to follow her, not that he would fit through that hole anyway.

He chose to look around for a bit.

 

Angie swam inside and made her way to Loki’s prison. The guards were sparse and thanks to the many dark corners she was able to hide away easily.

The mermaid slipped into the cave where Loki was held and she easily pushed away the rock that closed up the hole Loki was held in.

“What is it now?” came the annoyed voice of the youngest prince and Angie couldn’t fight the smile off her lips.

“Well that is a way to thank me, prince.”

She peeked over the rim of the hole and grinned down at the surprised looking merman.

“Angie?” he smiled and shot out of the hole to hug his friend tightly. She actually hugged him back before pushing him away.

“We need to get away quickly. I brought your brother and I think it was not my wised decision to leave him unsupervised.”

Loki almost laughed at that, “alright put the boulder back so they don’t immediately notice I am gone.” Angie nodded and did as he told her, “alright but remember you are not ordering me around.”

Loki smiled and grabbed her hand, “I know and I will apologize for it later, now let’s go.” Angie couldn’t agree to that more and together they swam out of the cave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony was torn, not that this was anything new but it was also nothing he liked. Peter and he were meant for each other and they both knew it, still, from his point of view, the odds were against them.

He would have to tell him soon or Bruce would screw things up for him.

The genius stood on the beach, the water of the ocean gently caressing his feet as he watched the waves. It was beautiful and it made him sad.

With a sigh he brushed his hair back and as he turned to walk back to the house he saw Peter standing there, watching him.

“Tony what is wrong?”

Tony felt his heart clench but he managed to force a smile for his beautiful lover. With two large steps he was in front of him and hugged him tightly, “I love you Peter, I love you so much.”

The boy was startled by the sudden burst of emotion but immediately hugged him back, putting his head in the crook of his neck. Tony knew he was probably confused and he owed him the truth.

“Tony whatever it is, you can talk to me, you can always talk to me.”

Letting out a breath, Tony closed his eyes, “Bruce found a way to turn you back into a merman.”

Tony could hear Peter gasp and as he pulled back the boy smiled brightly, “really? I-I can be normal again?” He blinked when he saw the hurt expression in Tony’s face, “oh I didn’t mean…sorry I am just happy, I miss my tail and the sea.”

Tony nodded, “yeah…figured.” The human let out a breath before he managed a smile and patted his shoulder, “let us go back so I can call Bruce, I think he has a few more tests to run but I don’t think you have to stay like this for long anymore.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To say that their escape was exciting was putting it lightly.

The guards had discovered them half way out and chased after them alerting a small army to keep their prince from leaving. Good thing that he and Angie were the fastest swimmers around and in addition to that the mermaid was hellish strong.

With ease she beat up a guard that had managed to grab Loki’s tail and the other mermen stood back watching in horror as she flung him around like a toy only to smash him into a wall.

Loki swallowed as he watched, “oh god I am engaged to a female Thor.” Angie laughed at that and grabbed his wrist to they could swim away as long as the other guards were still startled.

“Your brother wishes to be like me Loki,” she said with a laugh. They rounded a corner and were face to face with Byleist.

The prince blinked at them in surprise, “what in the wet hell are you doing here?” Loki felt a sudden anger surge through him so he flung himself at his brother, knocking him down to the floor.

Angie hissed and turned around holding back the guards.

Loki raised his fist and hit his brother hard in the face, “this is for treating me like shit you asshole!” His knuckles hurt like hell but it didn’t stop him from hitting Byleist again, “and that is for throwing me at the mermaids.”

Byleist let out a grunt but managed to catch Loki’s fist when he aimed to throw the third punch.

“You little shit I am going to break your every bone,” the older hissed and Loki gasped as he wrapped a hand around his throat.

Loki tried to fight him but his huge hand pressed down on his gills and made it impossible for him to get any water into his body. His tail flicked around wildly as he clawed at Byleist’s arm, he didn’t want to die like this.

Suddenly out of nowhere an arm wrapped itself around the Jotun’s neck and he was pulled backwards. Letting out a surprised shriek the prince let go and Loki flared his gills sucking in water.

“Fuck, too close.”

“Loki get out of here!”

“Thor?”

The Asgardian prince wrestled against the huge Jotun and Loki stared at them as they collided with the cave walls. Thor was still chocking Byleist but he was not yet done. He pushed back against Thor, throwing his head back.

Loki winced as he heard the sound of Thor’s nose breaking as it collided with Byleist rock hard head. Still Thor didn’t let go.

“Oh my god, are you boys done hugging each other?”

Loki turned and noticed that Angie was floating next to him.

“What? How? Did you beat them all?”

Angrboda nodded, “yup now let us go.”

Loki gaped as he looked behind her and saw the piled up and mostly unconscious mermen. Seriously he would never piss off that mermaid or he would die, painfully.

Angie swam forward and punched Byleist in the stomach hard enough to even throw Thor back a little. The prince’s eyes rolled back and he went completely limp in Thor’s arms.

With a huff Thor let go and nodded at her, “I am not as useless as you thought huh?” The mermaid raised an eyebrow, “don’t challenge your luck guppy.”

Loki chuckled and swam past them, “come you two let’s get back home.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter sat on a chair in the lab and spun around.

Tony and Bruce were focused on a holographic image. It showed a string of DNA and Bruce pointed his pen at a certain area.

“Here you see that? This is something that bothers me. This part of his DNA is unstable due to the Formula he absorbed, I fear the new one won’t counter that and he could mutate.”

Tony nodded; he was no expert on this topic but smart enough to understand anyway. He glanced at Peter spinning around in the chair like a careless child.

“Will you be able to fix that?”

The scientist nodded, “yes but I need a little more time, the Formula is good, just not perfect. With a few more samples I can run tests to be absolutely sure I am not doing more harm than good.”

Tony nodded, “yes I think Peter will agree that this is the best thing to do right Peter?”

The boy stopped and swayed on his seat, giggling like a kid.

“What were you two talking about?”

Tony and Bruce sighed, “Bruce needs more samples to fix you up without any chances of turning you into a puddle of goo, you okay with that?”

Peter stood and walked over, “ah yes of course I wish we could skip the needles though.” Tony smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, “we all hate them Peter but be brave and I will reward you.”

Peter’s eyes lit up and he smiled up at his mate, “oh and what would you give me?” Tony grinned and kissed him, “how about a night full of passion, love and dirty sex? Afterwards we can have pancakes.”

“No matter what time it is?”

“Yes!”

Peter squealed and wrapped his arm around Tony, kissing him back with a lot more enthusiasm than appropriate. Bruce cleared his throat as he looked away blushing.

“Guys I am still here."

Tony chuckled and parted from Peter, “sorry Bruce, but go ahead and take the samples.” Peter nodded a little breathless and sat down offering his arm.

Bruce took some blood and skin from Peter’s arm and as soon as he was fixed up Tony lifted him off the chair and carried him upstairs.

“If you need something Bruce, tell Jarvis. Jarvis I am busy no calls.”

Bruce groaned and the AI sounded rather amused, “of course Sir.”

 

Once they were in their bedroom Tony put Peter on the bed and stripped down immediately, “you were such a brave boy, now I am going to tread you the way you deserve.”

Peter laughed and relaxed while Tony climbed over him gently taking of his shirt and boxers. He leaned over him and began to mouth at his neck, exploring every inch of skin with his lips.

Tony could feel Peter shudder and goose bumps spread over his skin as he moaned in pleasure. It let his already half hard cock swell with blood.

Tony let his hands wander and his nails gently scratch the soft skin under them. Peter gasped and took his lover’s head in his hands.

They shared a look before they claimed each other’s lips in a heated kiss.

“I love you Tony,” Peter whispered as they broke and Tony smiled at him.

“And I am only yours,” the human replied, capturing his lips again.

 

Tony kept his promise.

They made out for what felt hours without a rush and when they both couldn’t stand it anymore he took Peter, throughout in every position the boy wanted.

Tony wasn’t young enough to get hard as many times as he used to when he was a teen but practice and a little help did the rest.

“Tony,” Peter moaned loudly as he lay there with half lidded eyes, his arms limp at his sides, his ass propped up on a few pillows.

Tony smiled at him as he slowly thrusted into him, it seemed like he finally managed to fuck him out properly.

“Yes darling?”

Peter’s fingers twitched and he tried to silence a moan in the pillow his head rested on. Tony chuckled and paused his movements, “do you want me to stop?”

Peter shook his head, “no, oh gods please don’t.”

Tony grinned and began to thrust again squeezing the younger’s ass a little, “then what? What should I do?” Peter groaned squeezing his eyes shut, “let me come, I want to come Tony, please.”

Tony grinned and laughed, “oh but I am not in the mood yet.” He picked up the bottle of lube that had lost a surprisingly amount of liquid since they began their evening and poured a few drops on Peter’s back.

The boy arched his back as the cool gel hit his heated back, “aah Tony that is unfair.” The genius just smiled and pushed himself in till the hilt before he began to spread the lube on Peter’s back.

He massaged him and made him arch his back even more.

“I like to make you feel good and I have the feeling you like it too.”

Peter groaned as Tony massaged his back finding a tense spot and releasing the tension with his thumbs.

“I love it,” Peter said moaning the last word into his pillow. Tony chuckled a pulled his hands back to slap his ass. The boy yelped but before he could voice any form of protest Tony thrusted back in and out this time in a fast pace.

He had delayed their release long enough and was determent to make them come one final time. With a low grunt Tony kept moving and once Peter let out a gasp and clenched around him he knew he found his special spot.

“Tony, please let me come, let me come.”

The boy kept chanting the words and who was Tony to deny him his pleasure. With a loud moan he thrusted deep inside and Peter arched his back as he spilled his seed.

Tony came as Peter clenched around him and he spilled into his still needy hole. Both men panted heavily and Tony almost immediately slipped out of Peter to collapse next to him.

The boy smiled and reached out to caress Tony’s bearded cheek, “I love you. You are probably tired of hearing it but I need to say it.” Tony closed his eyes and turned his face to kiss Peter’s palm, “I will never grow tired of it love. I love you too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frigga had her arms tightly wrapped around Loki and it seemed like she would never let go of him again. Loki soaked up her affection as he had his arms also wrapped around her while his forehead rested on her shoulder.

“Mother, I missed you so badly.”

Odin was next to them and rubbed Loki’s shoulder, “we are glad to have you back son.” The Queen kissed his raven locks, “yes I will never let you go, never again.”

Thor grinned at Angie who had her arms crossed in front of her chest, “yes how cute, but we should talk.” She looked at Odin, “this will mean war you must be aware of that.”

The King sighed and suddenly he looked a lot older than he actually was. He let out a breath and nodded, “I know, all of you come to the hall of counsel so we can talk about this.” To Angie’s surprise the King reached out to her and put a hand on her shoulder, “and I thank you daughter, we are indebted to you.”

Frigga nodded and let go of Loki, “yes we will never be able to repay you properly.” She hugged her too and Thor made a sound of protest, “hey I helped too.”

Frigga chuckled and hugged her eldest son and kissed his cheek, “yes you did and I am so proud of you.” After squeezing his shoulders she followed her husband and Thor growled, “I did help.”

Loki bit his lip to keep himself from laughing as he patted his shoulder. Angie shrugged, “I still did all of the heavy lifting.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sir, it appears you have a guest in the cove.”

Tony frowned and Peter perked up from where they sat on the couch.

“A guest?” Tony asked but since his mouth was stuffed with popcorn it was barely understandable, but Jarvis managed anyway.

“Indeed Sir, it appears to be Prince Loki.”

Peter jumped up almost throwing the giant bowl of popcorn to the floor and ran to the elevator. Tony growled a little but didn’t stop his lover; he instead continued to watch the movie.

Peter took the elevator downstairs and ran towards the water where he could already see the black haired prince looking at him. He noticed, to his surprise, that Loki’s smile fell as he approached him.

“Peter…what happened to you?”

The boy smiled a little sheepishly and sat down on to let his feet dangle into the water, “it was kind of an accident and now I have legs.” Loki eyed his pale stilts warily and nodded slowly, “I can see that.”

Peter was a little surprised by his reaction, “so why are you here, I mean you promised to visit but…you are late doing so.” Loki nodded as he stared at his legs, “yes I was…busy. I met my Sire and we had some bonding time, my other brother tried to kill me and now I am engaged and we are at war.”

Peter blinked at him, “wow so I missed a lot.”

The prince chuckled and poked his calf curiously, “an awful lot, but I just have to ask is…this permanent?” Peter knitted his eyebrows together; Loki looked at his legs with a surprising amount of disgust.

“No…Tony and Bruce are about to turn them back into a tail.”

The prince looked at him rather relieved, “good, glad to hear that.” Peter frowned at him, “I am still me Loki.” The merman tilted his head, “are you? You are wearing clothes Peter, you walk and smell like a human.”

Peter looked at his friend in surprise, in his eyes he hadn’t changed a bit but maybe, for a merman he was different now. He swallowed and shook his head, “no Loki, I am still me.”

The prince looked at him but his lack of comment spoke for itself. Peter looked down on his hands feeling hurt by his friend’s reaction.

“So our friendship is not strong enough that you will accept me like this?”

Loki’s head snapped up and his long black hair wiped around hitting him in the face with a wet slap, “I never…Peter you are still my friend just not…”

“Just not the way you want me to be.”

The accusation hung heavy in the air and while Loki pried the wet strands of hair loose from his face Peter shook his head and stood.

“Thanks for visiting Loki but maybe Tony is right and it is easier for me to stay human. It is not like…it is not like I have something to return to in the sea.”

Loki let out a sound of protest, “no Peter, I didn’t mean it like that I was just so surprised and…confused. A lot has happened and I…I feared you…wouldn’t be you anymore.”

The boy turned angry, the prince sounded so shallow it was almost funny, almost.

“Which I am clearly not anymore, according to you at least.”

Peter rubbed his face, why was everything so damn complicated? Loki sighed, “I am sorry Peter, I should have been a better friend and supported you, I meant the change probably wasn’t easy for you, was it?”

Peter shook his head and sat down on the floor again, “no it wasn’t but Tony helped me a lot and uh he accepted a mating gift from me.” Loki blinked and swallowed heavily, “you ah you made him your mate?”

The boy smiled brightly, “yes and I have to tell you one of the best things about having a mate is, well mating. I enjoy it very much.” He blushed and Loki blinked in surprise.

“I uh I think I should go now,” the prince quietly announced, he seemed a little sad and Peter didn’t understand why.

“You are not coming up with me? We could watch a movie or eat something special.”

The prince just shook his head, “no, no I need to go, but thanks anyway.” Peter looked at his friend obviously disappointed and Loki sighed, “Peter we are currently at war with Jotunheim, I don’t have time for such things.”

Peter nodded and stood, “yes I…am sorry.” Loki looked at him with a torn expression, “I actually hoped you would be able to join me down there, I could use someone like you.”

The boy chuckled, “I am no warrior, you know that.” Loki shook his head, “we have all the warriors we need Peter, what we need are thinker, strategists.”

Peter looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “Loki I am banished, I cannot return even if I was able to.” Loki sank into the water and resurfaced, pushing his hair and water out of the face.

“Yes but I convinced my father to let you come back if you prove yourself worthy. What better way to do that than to fight in a war.”

Peter looked at him with mixed feelings, “well…I cannot so you need to go it alone.” Loki nodded, “yes, well there is no helping it.” With a flick of his tail he swam away from the boy, “ah by the way I am glad to see you well.”

He smiled and waved at him before he dove down into the deep waters.

Peter stood on the stay and stared at the water with mixed feelings, he felt bad for many different reasons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki returned home in a rather sour mood, he had hoped to find Peter and be able to convince him to come home but seeing him being turned into a human didn’t sit too well with him.

Angie noticed as soon as he entered his now shared quarters. The mermaid sighed as Loki angrily flopped down on his bed.

“Didn’t go too well huh?”

Loki nodded.

“Did you boyfriend refuse to come home or was he unable to?”

Loki sighed, “I am in no mood to talk about this Angie and Peter is not my boyfriend.” The female lazily flipped her tail creating a tiny cloud of sand and dust, “but you wish he was.”

Loki turned his head and looked at her, “are you jealous?” Angie snorted and turned to look at him with an amused smile, “Loki don’t flatter yourself you know I am not, I just grew quite fond of the idea to be your queen and I don’t want some little boy to jeopardize it.”

Loki stared at her, “you are joking right?”

Angie laughed and got up from her seat, stretching her back with a yawn. 

“Am I? Who knows, anyway I am going out to hunt.”

Loki rolled his eyes, “you don’t need to hunt we have people to do that for us.” The mermaid picked up a spear she stole somewhere and smirked at him, “your people are lousy hunters, I rather do it myself.”

She blew a kiss in his direction and swam outside his cave. The prince found himself smile like a fool at that but he quickly shook his head and turned to lie on his back. He looked up onto the ceiling and thought about everything that happened.

“Stupid humans,” he groaned, “they ruin everything.”

He liked Angie, very much but he still had a crush on Peter. The beautiful brown eyed merman had been his only friend, comfort and accomplice for years and he couldn’t just forget about that.

With a sigh he turned to his side facing the wall of the cave as he tried to not think about Peter anymore, he was a human now. The sooner he accepted that fact, the better.

Loki slowly curled up into a ball, oh how he hated that stupid human inventor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony watched Peter through the glass door with his eyebrows knitted together. Bruce stood next to him with a similar expression on his face.

“Did you talk to him?”

Tony shook his head.

“Oh good so you didn’t fight.”

Tony nodded.

“Alright so why is he out there looking like he is going to jump off the balcony any minute, to put his miserable life to an end?”

Tony sighed, “I really don’t know Bruce, he seemed so happy when I told him you had a solution for him but then he talked to Loki and ever since he is kind of moody. I tried talking to him but he just says he needs time so I backed off.”

Bruce nodded slowly, “well I think you should really talk to him Tony, I am in the lab I need to run a few more tests with the new samples.” Tony nodded but his eyes were focused on his young lover.

The merman looked like he was in distress and he really didn’t like that. With a sigh he pushed the patio door open and stepped outside into the sun.

“Peter, are you alright?”

The boy sighed and let his head hang low, “Tony I…am confused.” Instead of answering Tony stepped behind him, wrapped his arms around the boy and rested his head on his shoulder.

The couple stood like this for a while as they looked down onto the water. The waves were dancing and the sun made the water glister so much, it almost hurt to look at it but neither of them moved.

“Peter I will accept your decision, if you want to become a merman again and…maybe even choose to leave me I will not stop you, this is your decision.”

Peter sighed and rested his head against Tony’s, “Tony you are my mate I will never just leave you, it is just…Loki told me that Asgard and Jotunheim are at war and if I participate in it I could prove my worth to Odin and go back again. I could see May again!”

Tony nuzzled his neck and Peter giggled as his beard scratched his sensitive skin.

“That sounds great.”

Peter nodded, “yes but it might also mean that I will have to cut ties with you and I just promised you to not leave you behind.” Tony kissed his neck and turned him around to look at him, “Peter for once I might have a plan that is not completely crazy and will definitely work.”

The boy looked at him sceptical but nodded, “I hope you are right although I cannot believe the part about it not being crazy.” Tony laughed and pinched his side, “when did you become so sassy?”

Peter shrieked and jumped back, “the day you pulled me out of the sea, my little goldfish.” Tony grinned at him, “I am not a goldfish, my lovely flounder, I am a mighty shark!”

The boy snorted, “yeah sure more like an sea urchin.” Tony grinned, “their sting is unbelievably painful and some are even deadly, it works for me.” Peter took a step back a big grin on his face, “yes and some of them eat through their butt.”

Tony blinked, “you little shit!” The boy squealed and ran back into the house, Tony chased after him and Bruce sighed as he heard them run, scream and laugh above his head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After all that happened, it felt good to be home again. Loki was glad and he really enjoyed being close to his mother, father and even Thor. Although it was a little annoying how the older always tried to force him to tell him stories from Jotunheim.

In the end though he would always tell a tale or two.

Their relationship had become better since Loki’s return and both knew it was due to the fact that they had both been through the same experience and had been saved by each other. Neither of them spoke about it though.

Loki enjoyed being close to Thor once again; he had felt lost ever since Thor had become a warrior while he was left behind with his studies and other less honourably activities. Maybe after all that time they would finally be close enough to share their secrets and wishes.

Oh gods he sounded like a girl.

Loki shook his head and focused on the map in front of him. Since they didn’t use paper underwater the map was carved into stone and stood as a table in the middle of the cave. Odin held onto his spear as he studied it with his one eye, “we need some kind of advantage to defeat the Jotuns, they are powerful swimmers and fighters, also they are plenty in numbers.”

Loki nodded, “yes they are quite formidable and not easy to beat also they are truly loyal to Laufey and will not abandon him.”

Odin eyed his son, “what about his son?”

Loki scoffed at that, “Byleist is an idiot, easy to outsmart but a strong fighter, he could pose a serious threat.” Odin nodded, “I feared you would say that.”

Thor looked at the map, “we should hit them with full forces and hope for the best, we don’t have enough warriors to split the army.”

Loki grimaced at that, “that is a bad plan but you are right, we just don’t have the numbers.” Odin slumped into his large seat and scratched his beard, “what about your pet?”

The second prince turned to look at his father, “Jor? I…I cannot make him fight for us; he is still an animal and can be unpredictable. If he…if he hurts someone on the wrong side I am at fault.”

Odin sighed, “I know but what choice do we have?”

Loki looked at Thor but the older prince just shrugged. Fine so he wasn’t a help this time. Loki groaned and sat down in a chair, “I will think about it but I don’t want to resort to that.”

Both his father and brother exchanged a look before they nodded. At least they still knew that nothing good would come from pressuring him.

Odin sighed, “I fear I have doomed our people.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading till next time the climax is near


	23. Well and then there is war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here is another chapter I hope you enjoy it. 
> 
> Fun fact actually I wanted to call the fic The boat of Fate but since there was very little boat in there I changed it.   
> The title was inspired by this song by the way.   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2JEoqHQwoQ

The days passed in a weird haze and soon it was time, time for many things. Loki had visited them once again and told them when the battle between Asgard and Jotunheim would take place and, as Tony guessed, to check if Peter was still human.

The boy had told him about their conversation and it had made the genius furious. How dare the little prince make Peter feel bad about his legs. They were beautiful as was the rest of him.

Finally Bruce turned to them, “I think it is safe to try, do you still want it Peter?”

The boy eyed the flask with the clear liquid inside and swallowed heavily. Did he? Did he really want to become a merman again even though it would mean to maybe leave Tony behind?

He looked at the older man askingly.

Tony looked at him with a soft expression and smiled, “Peter you are not a human, you were never meant to be. It breaks my heart a little, but…I think you should get your tail back.”

Peter looked into his eyes, the entire time. He could see that this was breaking his heart more than just a little and it made him almost cry. Why was this so hard?

In the end though Peter knew what he had to do, “I want it Bruce.” The scientist nodded. His smile was somewhat sad and Peter felt the same way, he had grown to really like the man they were friends.

Tony watched him and Peter could see the hurt in his eyes even though they had talked about this long and throughout. Well there was no time for regrets now.

Peter sat down on the couch and threw a blanket over his lap before taking off his clothes underneath. Just like the last time Peter poured the formula on his hands and wiped something on his legs, it wasn’t really that scientific, but Bruce didn’t mind since that way Peter wouldn’t have to deal with any more needles.

They waited and Tony shifted in his seat anxiously. It didn’t take long until Peter showed a reaction. He felt the heat rise inside his body and starting at his toes his legs began to tingle and he groaned at the feeling of it.

It felt like his entire lower half had fallen asleep to the point where it was semi painful and he grabbed the blanket twisting it in his hands.

Both Tony and Bruce had seen the footage of Peter turning human but seeing a transformation like this up close was weirdly fascinating. Peter’s long legs seemed to melt together and for a moment it looked like flesh coloured playdough which was kind of gross.

Soon enough however the skin changed and scales grew out of it. At first they were milky white not really looking like scales at all and Tony shot Bruce a worried gaze but the scientist didn’t looked concerned at all.

The scales were soon shed and after an almost painful groan from Peter, a set of new ones, together with fins grew from the flesh.

When it was finally over, it had felt like years thought it only had been like five minutes, Peter was panting heavily and Tony rushed to give him a glass of water.

“How are you feeling Pete?”

The boy downed the water and Tony watched how his gills flared a little.

“Good, a little exhausted but good.”

He put the glass away and together they examined his tail. Peter pulled the blanket from his lap while Tony ran a hand down the strong tail but stopped where the small scar of their first encounter had been.

“It is gone.”

Bruce nodded, “yes of course the entire tail regrew and a scar is not a genetic thing.” Tony nodded feeling oddly sad about that but Peter quickly took his hand and smiled at him, “no one can make our connection disappear Tony.”

The genius smiled at his words and kissed him, “alright let me suit up and we will beat the shit out of a few Jotuns.” Peter laughed and nodded placing a quick kiss on Tony’s lips.

The human stood and walked to the other side of the room, “get it on Jarvis.” The AI didn’t reply but only began to assemble the Iron Man suit around him.

Bruce watched him a little worried, “Tony.”

He spoke in hushed voice but Peter was too caught up in touching his tail to hear them anyway.

“I need to remind you that we didn’t test it and if it doesn’t work you might drown.”

Tony looked at him and smirked, “Bruce why don’t you trust me?” Bruce sighed, “I don’t like you being this cocky, it is doomed to fail now.”

Tony laughed but it was muffled since the mask was assembled around his face.

Finally Iron Man once again walked through the lab, “everything will be fine Bruce, you will see.” The scientist didn’t look convinced at all, but Tony ignored him. He walked up to Peter and the merman smiled at him.

“Ready to go?”

The boy held his arms up to him and grinned, “of course darling.” Tony grinned behind the mask and picked up his little merman bridal style and they both looked at Bruce.

“Don’t wait up for us Brucie.”

Bruce watched Tony and Peter disappear and with a heavy sigh he turned and gathered his things before leaving.

He said goodbye to Jarvis and walked out of the house and up to his car when he noticed a man with an eyepatch leaning against the hood.

“Dr Banner, my name is Nick Fury and there are a few things I want to talk to you about.”

Bruce stared at the man and swallowed, he got a bad feeling about this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki swallowed heavily and Frigga smiled at him, “you will win this for us Loki, I know.”

The prince grimaced and looked down on himself. He wore his royal armour and it felt weird. Normally they would only wear it for ceremonial things but now, since they actually were on war, they finally had a real reason to put it to use.

Loki looked up at his mother, “I am not sure mother, I mean we are so weak compared to them and…I am scared. What if my actions have doomed too many to a gruesome death?”

Frigga sighed and pulled him into a hug, “Loki, part of life is to make decisions and we don’t always make good decisions and that is okay.”

She looked at him and smiled, “but only the bravest and strongest dare to make hard decisions.” Loki looked at her and his gaze was filled with love and pure affection. He had missed his mother so much.

“I will stand to what I did and I will be a prince worthy of our people.”

Frigga smiled, “that is my boy.”

Loki enjoyed her company for a little longer before he swam outside taking his place next to his brother in front of the throne cave.

Both princes were clad in their armour and while normal mermen wore armour made out of bones and wood, the royals had what little metal the smiths had found forged into elegant looking chest pieces and arm bracers.

Thor’s armour had more silver while Loki’s had a few golden applications.

Both of the princes looked equally dangerous as they waited for their father to call them inside.

“Are you nervous?”

Thor chuckled, “of course not, are you?” Loki scoffed and both smiled before they looked away. Finally Thor patted his back, “I don’t know if I already told you, but I missed you Loki. I really did.”

Loki smiled and put a hand on his arm, “I missed you too Thor.” The brother’s shared a long look but flinched as someone behind them spoke.

“Are you going to kiss each other now?”

They spun around and stared at Angrboda.

The mermaid looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

She wore her usual attire, a woven west over her chest and her dark hair flowing openly around her head.

Both princes blushed a little and the mermaid chuckled, “just kidding, just how weird would that be?” Thor nodded, “yeah absolutely weird.”

Loki chuckled, “besides I would never dare to cheat on you darling.” Angrboda scrunched up her nose, “don’t call me that, it makes me feel weird.”

She shook her head and gripped her weapon tighter. It was the spear she stole but she had improved it with a tip made of stone and a few carvings in the wood. It fitted her in a way.

Finally they heard Odin call and they, all together, swam into the throne cave to officially charge into battle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moment Tony dived into the water with Peter still in his arms was one of the best feelings Peter had ever experienced. Feeling the warm water of the ocean engulfing him while being so close to his mate was almost magical.

Once they were a few meters deep in the water Peter let go of the suit and swam away from Tony. He let out a shout full of happiness and shot through his element.

Tony simply watched.

Peter grinned and curled up, stretched, swam tiny circles and spun around like a merchild that experienced this for the first time. Laughing happily he swam up to Tony, “I am sorry but it…feels like, it’s been an eternity since I swam like this.”

Tony chuckled and probably smiled behind the mask, “no problem love, but we should get going I think, time probably is of the essence here.”

Peter nodded, “ah yes of course, how about we race a little bit and when I get tired you can carry me.” Tony chuckled and Peter could hear the smirk in his voice, “oh darling, don’t I always? Now let’s hurry.”

He fired up his repulsors and Peter flexed his tail shooting after him through the water. It felt good, feeling the cold water flow over his face, the fresh salty liquid wash through his gills, cleaning them.

Peter laughed loudly taking the lead as he let his tail work its earnest.

The kind of odd duo raced deeper into the water and while Peter seemed to not bother at all the deep did some on Tony. They needed to stop a few times so the human could get used to the pressure and while the suit was built to both protect him from the cold and water; the pressure was hard to manage in such a small craft.

The boy also guessed it was also something to help Tony to feel more comfortable in the deep. The last time he visited Asgard the genius had been driven by his love and desperation for the young merman and so had ignored his discomfort out of sheer necessity.

At least that was what Tony told Peter.

Peter was a little bit concerned about his human but the only thing he could do for him was either to stay with him or sent him home and he knew Tony wouldn’t accept being sent away.

So he waited and supported Tony the best he could.

At some point he wondered if it was really the pressure Tony was fussing about since whenever they stopped he seemed to talk to Jarvis and fiddle around with his gloves.

Finally they made their way to the battleground and Peter gasped as he saw the carnage.

The Asgardians were fighting back as good as possible but everyone could see that it was a lost cause. The Jotuns were stronger and greater in numbers.

“They will all die,” Peter whispered and watched with wide eyes. Tony looked at him, “no they won’t, go find your prince and I will join the fun.”

Peter nodded and wished he could kiss his mate before shooting through the water searching for Loki. He spotted the prince obviously arguing with Thor and swam towards them.

“Loki!”

“Peter?”

Both princes turned to him and Peter hugged the other merman tightly, “you came back, oh gods you came back and you are normal again.” Peter swallowed and nodded squeezing the other a little.

“Yes I am back, sorry it took me so long.”

Thor growled next to them, “I don’t want to break you two up or anything, but we are in the middle of a battle and I say call the snake!”

Loki glared at his brother, he did break the hug but he didn’t let go of Peter.

“It is too dangerous you oaf, now stop it!”

Peter looked back and forth between the two princes, “I brought Tony, he will help us, he is a great fighter.” They heard a scream and a loud crashing sound as something gold and red flew past them crashing into some rocks.

Thor raised an eyebrow, “you were saying?”

Peter grimaced but Tony already rose again and shot through the water blasting the Jotuns as he passed them.

Thor watched him with big eyes, “he is a fighter, yes but I doubt he will be able to keep up with a merman.” Peter snorted and grinned at Loki who just rolled his eyes, “he will do his part.”

Peter bit back a comment and focused on other things, “yes now tell me what about the snake?” Loki sighed and shook his head, “Thor wants me to call for Jormungandr and I don’t think this is a good idea, sure he would kill them all but that is the problem, he would kill them all.”

Peter nodded and looked at the battlefield, “yes he wouldn’t be able to differ between Jotun and Asgardians. That is indeed difficult.” Thor shook his head but before he could say anything a Jotun warrior came dangerously close to them and he went to charge at him.

Loki looked at Peter, “we are fighting a lost war Peter I don’t know what to do.” He shook his head his face bitter and his hands clenched tightly.

“And it is entirely my fault.”

Peter placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, “no, it is not your fault Laufey was the one to wrong you.” Loki looked up and his eyes shone with affection but once again they were interrupted but not by Tony this time.

Angrboda pulled them both aside as a spear was hauled in their direction.

“You two idiots!” she hissed, “if you are not going to fight, get lost!”

She looked around and bared her teeth aiming her glare at the merman that had thrown the spear. Loki let out a breath but Peter was focused on the mermaid, “oh god a real Jotun female, I never saw one before.”

Loki scoffed, “believe me you don’t want to get close to them.”

Peter looked at him in surprise; there were a lot of things Loki had to tell him apparently.

 

Tony was surprised by the force he encountered. He knew that mermen were strong Peter had demonstrated his strength more than once to him but it was nothing against these weird blue mermen.

They were strong, fast and not the least bit concerned about his appearance, while the Asgardians seemed to constantly be on guard around Tony, even though he was helping them.

Fighting this deep underwater wasn’t like anything Tony ever did before; sure he had practiced but it was always a little different when the real shit went down.

He spun around as he heard shouting and saw a giant Jotun with some sort of crown and what looked like, an armour of bones slicing through the Asgardians. Tony figured that, that was either Laufey or his offspring.

Tony shot through the water and hit him in the face. The merman stopped and looked at him in disbelieve, holding his cheek like he just had been slapped. Tony almost laughed at that expression.

“You filthy creature how dare you!” the merman roared and Tony’s eyes widened as he lifted both of his large arms and let his fists come down on him like jackhammers.

Tony was thrown to the ocean floor and groaned as he hit his head inside of his helmet. A few parts of his suit turned yellow on his display.

“Why is that guy so hellish strong?”

“Sir,” Jarvis chimed up, “my calculations state that this specimen might be four times Master Peter’s strength at least.”

He stressed the last part out and Tony didn’t like that. He got up and shot the merman in the face making him move backwards through the water.

The giant beast shook his head like a dog and rubbed his nose.

Tony chuckled at that but frowned as he looked around, apparently the fighting around them had moved or the mermen had deliberately cleared a spot for them, because suddenly they almost seemed alone.

Well it was time for a showdown.

“Well ugly I hope you paid your insurance, because you will need it.”

The merman knitted his eyebrows together, “I have no idea what you are talking about human, but I also don’t care.” Tony rolled his eyes and lifted his hands, “you are not a bright example for your species.”

“I am a prince!” the other roared as he shot towards Tony. With a curse the human jumped, trying to evade the attack but the merman was in complete control of his tail and able to make narrow turns and so catch Tony’s leg.

Letting out a quite undignified yelp Tony was pulled back and slammed into the ground. He gasped as the air was knocked out of him and he looked at his display seeing that his leg turned yellow before returning back to blue.

He hissed and lifted his free foot to shoot the lovely prince in the face with his repulsor. Byleist groaned and shook his head roaring at the human, but he let go and Tony used that opportunity to get back on his feet.

The merman bared his teeth at Tony, but he was punched in the face before he could do anything else. This time however he didn’t just shrug it off. Tony had used more force and aided by his armour he did manage a mean swing at the merman.

Byleist was thrown backwards shaking his head but it didn’t much else.

“Oh come on!”

Tony attacked again and again but the results didn’t change.

The fight was just not even, Byleist was strong and agile in the water while Tony had some trouble steering through it. The prince noticed that and began to rely on his speed and agility to attack Tony viciously.

“Sir I would advise you to retreat, your opponent is clearly having the upper hand and you might get seriously injured if you continue to fight.”

Tony growled, “not happening Jarvis, tell me his weak points.”

The AI didn’t get a chance to answer since Byleist attacked again but this time he used a weapon. From somewhere he had acquired a spear and as Tony spun around the weapon pierced his tight.

The human let out a scream that was probably audible even without his speakers. The prince laughed and put some distance between them.

Tony groaned and fell forward, holding himself up only on his hands. His vision blurred from the pain and he had a hard time breathing. This bastard managed to pierce his armour and leg with a fucking spear maybe there wore a few weak points he had overlooked.

He managed to lift his head and glare at Byleist, not that he could see it though. The merman grinned at him like a shark and Tony knew he had lost.

The problem was, if he didn’t pull out the spear he would have to return above the sea and get help and if he pulled it out he would die. So he was fucked.

“Jarvis arg initiate the new protocol.”

The AI sounded concerned, “Sir it is not too late to get up and into a hospital, please consider this option fir-.”

“Now!” Tony screamed as he broke one part of the spear clean off. Jarvis said something but Tony couldn’t hear it, he barely felt the nick from the needle as he pulled the weapon from his flesh.

The merman looked at him in surprise but apparently didn’t consider him enough of a threat to finish him off, so Tony almost laughed as he blacked out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On another part of the battlefield Laufey deflected Odin’s spear with his tail, hissing at the old King.

“You are old Odin, I will defeat you and when your people cower before me I will snap you neck!”

Odin growled and swam backwards gripping his Gungnir tightly, “this war is pointless Laufey, pull back and let us live in peace again.”

The Jotun scoffed, he carried a sword that was in a surprisingly good state given that it was most likely found in a sunken ship.

“So you can steal from me again? This time my victory? Oh no you will die through my hand and I shall enjoy it.”

Odin sighed, yes he was old, he was tired and he wished he could see Frigga one last time before his death. Laufey let out a shout as he shot towards Odin.

The King blocked the attack with his spear hitting the larger merman with his tail into his side. Laufey growled angrily and swung his sword at Odin but he just ducked under it, hitting Laufey with the blunt side of his spear right in the middle.

Laufey was thrown back and he had a hard time breathing as he wrapped an arm around himself. The Jotun snarled and bared his teeth at his opponent but Odin remained unimpressed.

With a roar Laufey again charged at Odin and this time he used all his fury to beat the king. He attacked him, again and again until Odin’s arms grew tired and the spear slipped from his hands.

Laufey growled and raised his hand, backhanding Odin across the face and the old King was thrown to the ground. Laufey panted heavily as he floated in the water above the Aesir.

“I changed my mind I will kill you right now!”

He let out a shout bringing his sword down with every intention to kill. Odin closed his eyes and thought about Frigga.

A clang sounded through the water and as the dust and sand settled, both Kings could see the golden spear that blocked Laufey’s weapon.

Thor held it and his eyes were hard and determent, “step away father, my time has come.” Odin looked at his son, “aye son, it has.” He moved out of the way and two guards came to assist him.

Laufey sized Thor up and scoffed, “you think you can beat me Odinson?” Thor twirled the spear in his hands a confident smirk playing on his lips, “I _know_ I can beat you Laufey.”

The Jotun laughed, “you are so funny, boy. I will kill you last.”

This time Thor laughed, “well bring it on old man.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter and Loki watched the battle when suddenly an idea came to Peter. He grabbed Loki’s hand and the two of them exchanged a look, “what if you call Jor?”

Loki looked at their hands before frowning at his friend, “are you suddenly dense? We have been over this.”

Peter shook his head, “no Loki, I don’t mean use him to fight just call him, make an appearance and show everyone how powerful the Aesir are.” Loki blinked and chewed on his lip, squeezing Peter’s hand as he thought about it.

“But what if someone provokes him? I am scared Peter.”

His friend sighed and nodded, “I am too Loki but…what choice do we have?” Loki looked at him, “we have plenty of choices Peter this just appears to be an easy one.”

Peter groaned, “Loki!”

The prince sighed, “I…can try. Will you help me?”

Peter squeezed his hand again, smiling at him, “I always will.”

“Hey red tail!”

They both turned when the shout reached them and frowned, Angrboda swam up to them.

“Your mate, the human he disappeared. He fought with Byleist and after that no one saw him again, but Byleist is back into battle.”

Peter tensed and looked at Loki who swallowed, “go find him I will deal with Jor.” Peter was torn but he shook his head, “no Loki, Tony can take care of himself. Let us save our people.”

The mermaid raised an eyebrow at that; the little guppy had more in him than she thought. She watched them go with mixed feelings.

Angrboda didn’t know why she even cared about the man; he was a human after all and none of her business. Then again he had proven to be a good fighter and even dared to take on Byleist all on his own.

With a huff she swam away, ignoring the battle around her as she moved to the point where she last saw the human. He wasn’t there anymore of course but the trail of their battle was obvious and she just needed to follow it.

After some time she found what she was searching for and her eyes widened. That was not what she expected.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Getting further and further away, Loki and Peter once again proved that the two were the fastest swimmers in the seven seas. Had their mission not been so serious they might have even enjoyed it, but that was not the case.

Loki was distressed and Peter concentrated as they raced next to each other. The cave where the giant snake lived was not too far away but still far enough.

Once they reached it Loki hesitated again, “Peter what if I screw up?” Peter floated next to him and took his hand, “you won’t we are in this together.”

The prince looked at Peter with a weird expression, “Peter I…” Peter looked at him and smiled, squeezing his hand, he wanted to reassure his friend, show him that he cared.

Loki however seemed to interpret his action a little differently. The prince suddenly pulled Peter up against his chest and kissed him, wrapping his arms around the younger merman.

Peter let out a surprised sound, blinking rapidly.

“Loki stop!”

The prince instantly let go and retreated when Peter pushed him, “Peter I…sorry I didn’t mean to, I am so sorry.” Peter just stared at him, “is-is that the reason you hate Tony?”

Loki looked away, “I don’t hate him…”

“Oh yes you do!” Peter stated with an angry flip of his tail and Loki winced.

“I am sorry.”

Peter let out a breath and shook his head, “Loki I love Tony. He is my mate you…I could have, you know but like this…besides our people would never accept us.”

Loki nodded, “yes I know but…is there a chance we might?”

“No,” Peter cut him off, “Loki if you had told me before I got banished I would have totally gone for it but now I have Tony and he is everything to me. Sorry.”

Peter sighed and rubbed his face, “please Loki just…let us get done with this, afterwards we can talk.” Loki nodded and swore to not let that happen.

He swam inside the cave to wake his pet and Peter waited outside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thor fought against Laufey and though the king was older he was more experienced than the young warrior. The prince however had more stamina than him.

It was an almost even fight.

Thor gritted his teeth as he tried to pin Laufey’s tail down to the ocean floor but the merman managed to pull away just in time.

Laufey put some distance between him and the prince as he panted heavily. Thor watched him with sharp eyes. Laufey was a good fighter and driven by hate and madness and as much as Thor wanted to enjoy the fight, he rather wanted to win and end all of this.

The King watched the young merman closely as he rounded him; Thor did the same his grip on the spear tightening.

“You fight with no intention to kill Odinson; this will be your demise.”

Thor rolled his eyes, “Laufey just attack me already.”

The Jotun hissed and shot towards the prince and their weapons met with a sharp clang.

 

-To be continued-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well and that is it for today folks.  
> I will focus on finishing this fic soon and it is kind of funny that I wrote most of that at 6 am in the morning at work so if there are any mistakes I missed sorry. 
> 
> Like always leave a comment and tell me what you think.


	24. There is still war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is and I know it is way too short for the time that I took to write it, but apparently I cannot write while on late shift because my brain is mush.   
> Weird but well can't change it

Thor growled, his face just inches away from Laufey’s as they faced, their weapons scraping against each other. The sound was a screeching scream in the middle of their fight and they both used as much strength as they could to find a chance to annihilate the other.

Laufey had his teeth grit as he pushed against the silly prince, but since Thor was already on his back lying on the ocean floor he had nowhere to go. He increased his power, propelling him lower so he could slice Thor's neck from his shoulders and savour in the blood that would pour out.

Thor winced as a few sharp rocks cut into his back, piercing the skin. The king, despite his age, was insanely strong and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to win this fight at all.

He took a deep breath and tilted the spear a little so Laufey’s blade began to slide down the metal and jam into the earth so Thor was able to slip out from under him. Laufey let out a grunt at the impact and lifted the blade to attack again.

Thor gained some ground and used the length of the spear to lunge at Laufey and finally he managed to hit the man. He sliced Laufey’s shoulder as the other merman tried to block his attack.

The King hissed at Thor grabbing his shoulder and placing his palm over the cut, watching his blood float upwards in a slim wisp “you cannot win this Odinson.” Thor narrowed his eyes and sized him up, people liked to call him a little slow or even stupid, compared to Loki but there was one thing he always excelled at.

Fighting.

He was and never would be a genius but no one ever had an easy win against him.

Thor tightened his grip on the spear and waited for his chance. Laufey lashed out with a huge swing, that Thor anticipated.

He dropped down under the attack to dodge it and moved upwards and bashed Laufey on the forehead with the blunt side of the spear throwing him back in almost a comedic way. The prince spun the spear around and raised it over his head, ready to strike, ready to end it all when a shout and a loud hiss sounded through the water.

 

“Stop!”

Thor spun around and stared as almost everyone with wide eyes and open mouth at the giant snake that loomed over all of them. Jormungandr’s mouth was open, the large teeth looked sharp and dangerous as they glinted in the dim light.

Laufey got up and growled but he didn’t dare to say or do anything else. The fighting had stopped and everyone looked at the second prince, waiting for his next move.

Loki swallowed and his hand never left Jor’s head as he looked down at the people. He knew that Peter was somewhere behind him but Laufey wished his friend was right next to him. He felt like he needed the support.

“This war needs to end! There is no victory when there is blood, only death!”

A few of the mermen seemed to agree, to his surprise on both sides, but an angry laugh from Laufey took their attention.

“No victory? Boy victory is written in the blood of the losers, you are nothing but a silly child. You know nothing, now chose a side and fight like a man, or run, hide and cry like a child.”

Loki glared at Laufey but thankfully no one started fighting again. They all were waiting for Loki to act and the pressure was just crushing him.

The prince thought about his next move.

Yes he could chose a side and the side would surely win thanks to Jor but he didn’t want to, he didn’t want to slaughter a race for petty reasons, he wasn’t Thor after all.

He wanted peace with as little losses as possible, “Sire it saddens me that these are the only options you see. Well I see a third option.”

Laufey scoffed, “oh do you?”

Loki nodded and casually flipped his tail a smile playing his lips, “sure, I could just order my snake to eat you and Byleist so I can take your throne. It would be an easy and satisfying solution.”

Laufey narrowed his eyes and from somewhere Loki heard an angry shout of protest. He assumed that it came from his half-brother.

Laufey stared at him obviously trying to decipher if he was bluffing or would actually go through with his threat. Loki wasn’t so sure either but he stared back at his Sire, forcing his face to stay calm and indifferent.

The field was quiet as if the entire ocean was waiting to take a breath.

The sword shot through the water as Laufey threw it. Loki’s eyes were wide and he was too shocked and surprised to do much.

“Loki!”

A body collided with his and he was thrown out of the way as the sword pierced Odin’s tail. Loki let out a scream as he saw his father getting hurt and Jormungandr obviously had enough of this shit as he hissed and swallowed Laufey down, crushing his body as he did so.

More shouts erupted from around them and while most of the Jotuns retreated, Byleist charged forward but was met by an angry Thor. Loki on the other hand joined the guards, rushing to Odin’s side.

The old King bled an awful lot and he wouldn’t survive without measurements. A medic rushed over and Loki shared a long look with his father and to his surprise he didn’t see any regret in his eyes, only love and…pride?

Loki stared at him as Odin was carried off and the only thing that brought him back to reality was the scaled head that nudged his arm. The prince turned and saw that his snake was looking at him curiously.

“Yes you did well,” he scratched his head and the long tongue darted out, tickling his chest. Loki chuckled at that.

“Jor you are the best, now go back and digest that awful man in peace.”

He was almost sure he saw the snake wink at him as it slid away uncaring of the remaining mermen around him.

“You will pay for that!”

Loki frowned and turned to look down on his brothers. It was actually kind of funny; Thor was holding Byleist in a headlock while the prince spun around trying to buck him off.

In the end it was Peter to knock the Jotun out. The boy swam up to the struggling princes and hit the back of Byleist’s head with a stick.

He went lax in Thor’s arms and Thor gave him to a few guards to secure, but not before slapping his face with his tail. After that Thor nodded at Loki and swam off to see how their father was doing and Loki was left with Peter.

“Are you alright Peter?”

The merman nodded, “I am but I need to find Tony I haven’t seen him since we arrived.” Loki sighed but nodded, he just couldn’t win against the human. He had to find out his secret.

Peter gave him a smile showing that he understood his reaction and spun around to make his way to the battlefield but froze in place. Loki looked past him and also froze.

Angie was swimming towards them holding Tony in her arms.

“I think you lost this.”

Peter shot forward and cradled his human, no not human anymore, in his arms. Tony had a tail. A real fishtail with bright red scales and golden fins that looked so delicate that Peter feared he would hurt them by just looking at them.

“How is that possible?” Loki asked and Peter shrugged staring at his lover in disbelieve.

Both mermen looked at Angie she crossed her arms in front of her chest, “don’t ask me I went to look for him and when I found him he was tearing the last of his armour off but he was already like this.”

Peter looked down on Tony’s face. He was passed out and Peter could feel him, the transformation had been incredible exhausting when it had happened the first time to him too.

Loki studied the tail with interest and shared a look with Peter, “we should take him to the palace and have a healer look at him.” Peter nodded and they made their way back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The aftermath of a battle is always a terrible thing and no one likes to do that kind of cleaning up. People have to be taken care of and bodies needed to be disposed of, it was shitty work.

The royals and Peter luckily didn’t have to deal with that kind of thing as they were in the palace, taking care of their own.

Odin survived his injury but he would probably never swim well again. Frigga was still glad she had her husband back as well as both of her sons and her future daughter-in-law.

Things had worked out surprisingly well all things considered; the only thing that was not good was Tony. Peter hadn’t moved from his side since they found him and no one tried to make him.

They had given him a bed in the private royal healing wing and Peter stayed with him, watching and guarding him.

But Tony didn’t stir.

He was like dead but he was breathing and his heart was beating and with every day that passed Peter grew more and more desperate. He remembered all the bad things that Bruce had said about the Formula and what could happen when used without being tested properly.

The healers weren’t much help either, they had given him some minerals to rub on his skin and tail in hopes he would absorb them and it would aid his healing. So far it has done nothing but Peter still hoped for the best.

Peter held his hand and slowly stroked it, he came to the conclusion that he had to take Tony back so Bruce would help him but he still hesitated.

The journey to the surface was long and he didn’t know if it would make things worse or not. He sighed heavily and bit his lip.

Feeling tears in his eyes he leaned down and kissed Tony’s lips before he sat up again and rubbed his eyes. He needed to get Tony help and he would only receive it at the surface. It was their only chance.

With a sigh he opened his eyes and looked down on his lover.

His breath hitched.

“Hey underoos.”

Peter’s lip quivered and he let out a sob, hugging Tony tightly.

“I thought you would die!” he wailed and Tony wrapped his arms around him.

“I won’t lie, I thought so too darling.”

They held each other tightly until Peter was able to pull back, “so, w-what happened?” Tony sighed and told him about his fight with Byleist and the Serum he carried the entire time.

Peter listened with wide eyes, “so this was your plan B?” Tony chuckled and let his hands roam up and down his tail.

“Kind of, I know how strong you are Peter and when Loki told us how strong the Jotun are I knew that I had to take measurements. My suit is the best tech currently in the world, I know this because I made it, but would have been still too risky to come down here without anything else.”

The human flapped his tail a few times experimentally, it was rather weird but also very interesting, “If I hadn’t I would have drowned. The only thing I didn’t know was if the mechanism containing the Formula would work this deep down.”

Peter frowned, “oh so that was why we got so delayed on our way down.” Tony smiled and shrugged; his lover sighed and sat on the bed next to him wrapping his arms around Tony’s middle.

“I don’t know what to think of all that but I am glad you are alright and you are beautiful.”

Tony chuckled, “am I not always?” Peter snorted and kissed his cheek, “you are but now you look like most beautiful goldfish in all of the seven seas.”

Tony smiled and pulled him to sit in his lap, “is that so, well now I am the most gorgeous being on land and down the sea, after you of course.”

Peter giggled and kissed Tony properly. The older man kissed him back and sighed, “I am so glad you are unharmed Peter, I was scared the entire time that something might happen to you. All I wanted to do was to grab you and take you as far away as possible.”

Peter sighed and looked at him. He rested his forehead against Tony’s and smiled at him, “I love you Tony.” The former human smiled, “I love you too Peter.”

Suddenly Peter began to laugh and Tony looked at him confused.

“What are you laughing about?”

Peter grinned at him, “oh dear I just thought about what Pepper will say when she sees you.” Tony visibly paled and Peter laughed even harder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki smiled at Angie as he held her hands. The mermaid looked slightly annoyed, or at least she pretended to be as she hid her smile.

Odin tied a ribbon around their hands, “so from now on their lives shall be one, he is hers and she is his.”

The crowd cheered and Loki was sure he saw a faint blush on Angie’s cheek. He wanted to point it out but he feared his now wife would throw a rock at him.

However to his surprise it was Angie who spoke first, “aren’t you supposed to kiss me?” Loki shrugged, “well it isn’t mandatory around here. Why? Do you want me to?”

Now the mermaid now visibly blushed and looked away, “no, of course not.” Loki chuckled and grabbed her chin to pull her into a kiss. It was a bold move and he was sure she would make him pay later but just for seeing the surprised look on her face was worth it.

The people watching cheered and clapped and Frigga winked at her son as he parted from his mermaid. The two were a sweet couple and even though they may not love each other as much as Odin and Frigga, they were really fond of their spouses.

It was a nice scene and everyone was happy, Asgard and Jotunheim were finally united through a bond and even though Byleist was now officially King, everyone knew that he didn’t hold any power.

After the battle he had lost a lot of support from his people and they knew Loki was the one with the real power. Besides many of them respected Loki for he was the one who controlled the giant snake.  

During his stay most of them had also learned what a bright and kind young man he was and though the Jotun were hard people they seemed to appreciate the change. Maybe he would one day be truly able to win them over completely.

Loki and Angrboda planned to leave Asgard to go to Jotunheim and rule it, with Byleist pretending to be King of course. They would leave soon after the wedding to get settled in.

Loki didn’t look forward to leave his home and family, but he wouldn’t skip on his duty. Besides Thor was about to ascent the throne of Asgard and he wanted to be away before Thor could drop all his duties on him again

The couple waved at the people, well Loki waved Angie just looked indifferent, but he couldn’t stop glancing at her. Today her long black hair was braided artfully into a complicated style which suited her surprisingly well.

His mother, god knows how, convinced her to wear something else than the used old vest she liked so much and so she now wore something the human called a freaking golden poncho, like Frigga.

She looked good in it and he was surprise he himself admitted that. He glanced at Peter who looked beautiful as always.

Loki feared that he would never really get over him but he would try. Maybe in a few years they would finally have forgotten all of this and be like they had before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony watched from a distance sitting on a rock as his tail gently rocked in the current. It had taken him some time to adapt to his new body and he was still a little confused by it.

Peter was a great help and together they learned to handle the new situation. Currently Tony stayed with Peter but he would return home after the wedding. He wanted to be examined by Bruce and he was also weighing his options.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay a merman but he would decide that later, now it was more important to get examined in case his state was unstable.

Tony watched Loki wave at the people and they cheered for him, then he quickly hugged Peter who was his best man next to Thor and the two of them exchanged a few words before Peter laughed and hugged him again.

Tony smiled and ran a hand over his tail. The feeling of the scales was still foreign to him but he kind of liked it. His tail was powerful and he liked swimming with it a lot though he was barely able to keep up with Peter.

He also had a hard time to control his new strength. He wasn’t as strong as the other mermen but he was stronger than he had ever been as a human. So it actually happened when he tried to crack open a clam he crushed it completely.

That made eating a little complicated once in a while but he managed better now. Peter was always helping him after all.

The former human tilted his head and grinned at Peter, “hey Pete well did the Prince ask you to steal him away from his bride?” Peter snorted and sat down on the rock next to Tony, “you are jealous.”

Tony rolled his eyes and took Peter’s hand, “no I am not.”

Peter grinned at him, “yes you are Tony.” He squeezed his hand and they shared a warm look.

“You are going to leave soon?”

Tony looked way, “I am not leaving Peter I am…just on a little trip home.” Peter rested his head on Tony’s shoulder, “you are leaving, you will get yourself turned back and we will be separated again.”

Tony kissed his head, “you don’t know that Peter, maybe I cannot be turned back, maybe I want to stay here with you.” Peter gave him a look, “no you don’t.” Tony sighed and pointed at his necklace, “hey I accepted this, remember?”

Peter looked at him with fondness, “I could never forget Tony.”

They stayed like this for some time before Tony chuckled. Peter frowned and looked at him, “what is so funny?” Tony shook his head, “I think it is just weird that I hoped the next wedding I attend would be my own.”

Peter stared at him, “did you just? Do you mean it?” Tony smile and took his hand, “did you ever hear me say something I didn’t mean?”

Peter looked at their hands.

One strong, calloused and big.

The other pale, thin and delicate.

They didn’t seem to fit together.

He looked up again meeting Tony’s brown eyes. They were filled with all the love a man could have for his chosen one and all his doubt melted away.

Peter pulled Tony into a kiss; he wrapped his arms around his neck while strong arms wrapped themselves around his middle, pulling him up against that strong chest.

“Yes, Tony. I want to marry you.”

Tony chuckled and kissed his nose, “I never had a doubt.”

Peter laughed, “really? Is that why your hands are shaking so much?” Tony grimaced but couldn’t hold the smile, “I am just freezing.”

Peter laughed and shook his head, “I love you Tony.”

“I love you more Peter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well if you like you can stop here and see it as the ending and make up the ending you like.   
> The last chaper will be a little Epilogoue and a little extra, I will try to post it quicker this time.   
> And Thanks to Satansyn again for helping me.


	25. Epilouge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here it is the Epilouge I hope you enjoy

Tony shivered as he stepped out of the water, his gills disappearing and the webbing between his fingers and toes slowly receding. The feeling was weird and he still didn’t really like it but it was worth the trouble.

Only dressed in a pair of swimming trunks the genius made his way down the beach to his house, his steps quickened the closer he got. The lights inside were still lit and told him that there was still someone awake and he hoped it wasn’t Pepper.

“Welcome home Sir, how was your trip?”

Tony smiled as Jarvis voice greeted him in the elevator, “it was good, nice actually, Thor is a cool guy if you get to know him.” The AI sounded amused, “this is good to hear, Sir.”

Tony waited not very patiently, for the doors to open and shifted from one foot to another while waiting, he needed to upgrade the stupid thing.

Finally the doors opened and he walked into the living room and his eyes lit up.

“Tony you are back!”

Peter jumped to his feet and ran to Tony, picking him up and swinging him around like he was a little kid. Both men laughed and Tony put both hands on Peter’s face to pull him into a deep kiss.

“I couldn’t let my husband wait too long could I?”

Peter grinned like a fool and hugged him before letting him go, “as if you had the strength, but I am glad you back I just ordered pizza and I need help with my math problem.”

Tony sighed theatrically and put a hand on his heart, “oh god pizza and math two of my favourite things, we are indeed perfect for each other.” Peter rolled his eyes but couldn’t keep the smile of his face.

They settled down at the dining table where lots of books and papers were strewn around. Tony smiled as he watched Peter pick up a pencil and explain his problem to him. The boy’s eyes were focused on the equation and his brow was slightly furrowed as he talked.

Then after a minute of explaining everything he bit into the pencil as the thought about his problem one more time. Tony loved to watch him work; it was one of his greatest joys now.

Peter looked at him and rolled his eyes, “god Tony stop looking at me like a lovesick fool and help me.” Tony sighed and put his head on his hands watching him like a little girl his first crush, “sorry can’t help it and you overlooked something, which is why you don’t get the right answer.”

He pointed at the forgotten minus and Peter gaped first at the equation then at Tony, “you weren’t even paying attention and still saw that?” Tony grinned and kissed him.

“Genius, husband and philanthropist, baby,” he said with a wink and got up as the doorbell rang. He took the pizza from the delivery guy, gave him a quick autograph and went back inside to share it with his lover.

The two had now been married for three years and while Peter was part time human he was a full time devoted husband to Tony. Bruce had managed, after a lot of work, to advance the serum so Peter would be able to shift from tail to legs at his own will.

Tony on the other hand had not been that lucky. When they returned to land Bruce had examined him and found that Tony’s DNA was very unstable due to the Formula they had used and to protect him Bruce had turned him human again immediately.

Peter had been sad but Tony had kept his promise, he proposed to him properly before finally marrying him one year later on the yacht where they first had met.

After a lot of tinkering and experimenting, Bruce and Tony had managed to make another Serum for the genius, which allowed him to go underwater without destroying his body. So now whenever Tony got into water his body automatically grew gills and webbings which made showering and bathing a little annoying but he gladly carried that cross if it meant to be with Peter.

But Tony wasn’t the only one adapting, Peter had decided he wanted to know all there was and so he took highschool classes and learned at a speed that even Tony sometimes found ridiculous.

The only bad thing about that was the fact that the two lovers were now closely watched by SHIELD, that weird organization that had approached Tony before. They had managed to recruit Bruce using a quite stunning redheaded woman which had made both Tony and Peter gape.

Bruce had kept them off their back most of the time, until he disappeared a year ago, but to ensure that it stayed that way Tony had agreed to become an advisor and kind of an ambassador between the human world and Asgard. He didn’t like it very much but it wasn’t all that bad either.

Tony was pulled back to the present when Peter snatched the last piece of the peperoni pizza away before he could reach it. The human blinked and smirked at Peter, “you little shit that was mine.”

Peter shrugged and took a huge bite, almost swallowing the whole piece in one go. Tony laughed and took a sip from his soda as he watched the boy forcing the food down with a grimace.

“Oh god that hurt, well first comes, first serves.”

Tony grinned at him, “well if I recall correctly you were the one to come first yesterday too.” Peter blushed heavily at that and chewed on his pizza.

“So,” Tony said drawing lazy circles on the table with his finger, “you should serve tonight I think.” Peter was completely red and instead of answering he shoved the last of his pizza inside his mouth before washing it down with some water.

He let out a breath before looking at Tony, “well what are we waiting for?” Tony grinned and shot up, racing up to the bedroom, closely followed by Peter.

Once they were upstairs the lovers began to kiss and undress each other which was an easy task since both of them weren’t wearing all that much.

Peter removed Tony’s swimming trunks and Tony quickly removed Peter’s shirt and boxers. As soon as they were both bare, Tony lifted the younger man up and put him down on the bed.

Peter giggled as Tony kissed and nipped at his neck. His hands roamed the young body beneath him and Peter moaned as Tony let his fingernails gently scratch over his hip bones.

Tony smirked before he captured Peter’s lips in a deep kiss. They both were already hard and Tony slowly moved his hips so they would rub against each other.

Peter gasped for air and reached between them, wrapping his hand around them both. Tony groaned as he kept moving and kissing Peter.

“I love you.”

It was barely a whisper but he knew Peter heard him. The boy smiled and looked at his human, “I love you more.” Tony chuckled and reached over to grab the lube and Peter let go, grabbing the headboard.

He grinned and watched as Tony coated his fingers before he pushed two of them inside Peter as he began to loosen him up. Peter moaned and spread his legs wide.

They shared a hot look before Peter gave Tony a quick nod. With a grin Tony spread his fingers while slicking up his cock with lube. Since they had been living together they had sex almost everyday and Peter had quickly adapted.

Tony pulled his fingers out and immediately pushed in. Both men moaned the other’s name and once Tony was completely inside he stopped to look at his beautiful merman.

Peter’s mouth was slightly open and his eyes were closed as a blissful expression showed on his face. Never in the world would Tony let anyone take that away from him.

Peter noticed how Tony had stilled and looked up to him askingly, “are you alright love?” Tony nodded and kissed him, “yes I am more than that.”

Before Peter could ask again he began to move. Both men let out a moan and Tony held Peter’s hips in place as he slowly fucked him.

The boy grabbed the sheets tightly and writhed under him as he wanted Tony to go faster and harder but the human wanted to enjoy it as long as possible.

“Tony, gods go please, faster.”

Tony snickered, “you want it faster darling, well you will have to beg a little more.” Peter groaned, “Tony!”

The genius grinned and if possible went even slower, Peter let out a helpless sound. He pressed both hands on his face at this torture.

“Tony please, you are the most handsome, smartest and amazing person ever, please pound me into the fucking mattress.”

Tony laughed and kissed his young lover, “your wish is my command.” Peter yelped as he was flipped over and Tony picked up the speed immediately.

Peter put both hands against the headboard and moaned as Tony began to almost violently thrust into him. It was exactly what the boy had wanted.

Tony held his hips as he thrusted inside and he threw his head back enjoying the warmth around him.

“Fuck Peter I love you.”

Peter sounded breathless as he answered, “I love you too Tony!”

He came soon after with a shout and as he clamped down around Tony, the human also came.

Both lovers lay in the bed afterwards, breathing heavily, staring at the ceiling and holding hands. After a while Peter snuggled closer to Tony and enjoyed Tony’s warmth, “how was your trip by the way?”

Tony smiled; he put an arm around Peter and the other behind his head.

“It was nice; Thor is actually a cool guy when you get to know him.”

Peter chuckled and Tony kissed his head, “we talked a lot about boring political stuff and then we ate some fish.” The human grimaced at that, he still wasn’t used to eating so much raw fish.

“Thor eats like a barbarian.”

Peter snorted and nodded, “true because he is one, but I guess he makes a good king.” Tony smiled, “a great king even if we give him a few more years.”

They were silent after that and both men slowly drifted into sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki rolled his eyes, “you know it isn’t going to hatch quicker if you keep staring at it.”

Angie glared at him but at least she took her eyes off the egg for once. Loki sighed and swam from where he was lounging around on the bed to her side to look at the light blue egg that rested in the stone bowl they had set up in their private chambers.

“If I don’t watch over it something might happen and it needs fresh water and air.”

Loki nodded, inside the egg a tiny creature was moving around and he couldn’t fight the warm feeling in his chest as he watched it.

“That is true darling but on the other hand do you want our child to hatch and think that you are a predator out to eat it?”

At that Angie snorted and sat back a little. She sighed and looked at him, “I am just happy it finally happened. We are going to be parents.”

Loki nodded and sat next to her, “yeah scary right.”

Angie snorted, “super scary.”

They sat there for a while until Angie sighed and rested her head on Loki’s shoulder. These moments of closeness and comfort were rare for the mermaid and Loki enjoyed them when they happened. He smiled and took her hand.

“You will be a great mother, you will teach it how to hunt and beat up bad guys and I will teach it to be nice and gentle. Perfect balance.”

Angie smiled and nodded, “that will be nice teaching it how to fight.” Loki looked at her, he might not have loved her in the beginning but he couldn’t wish for a better wife.

She was strong, confident and just. He was glad to have her.

“I love you.”

The mermaid sat up and looked at him her eyebrows knitted together, “what?” Loki lifted his hands, “please don’t hit me I didn’t mean it.”

Angie stared at him and took his hands, “you love me?” Loki nodded, “yeah, weird huh?” His wife nodded, she didn’t look angry, just curious.

“I have never been in love you know.”

Loki nodded, “I didn’t think you did. The other mermaids are so different from you after all.” Angie nodded and seemed to think about something.

She looked at him with a determent expression, “let me try something.”

Before the prince could do something she grabbed his face and placed her lips on his. It wasn’t a sensual kiss, it was rather rough and dominant but Loki’s heart still jumped a little.

He blinked and swallowed as she let go, “oh.”

Angie blushed again; he liked that colour on her.

“I might need to try again I ah I didn’t get all the results yet.”

Loki nodded, “ah sure, sure go ahead you can try as much as you like.”

Angie nodded and she did, she tried, again and again until they lay on the bed their tails entwined and arms wrapped around each other. They were a mess of limbs but neither cared and next to them in its bowl, the egg gently rocked as the new life, eager to hatch and see the world, moved around.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning was also quiet, they ate breakfast and Tony had his third cup of coffee when Peter finally spoke.

“Tony, can we have a child?”

Tony snorted into his cup and looked at his husband, “pardon?” Peter offered him a napkin that Tony took to wipe his face. Peter took a deep breath before he spoke again, “can we have a child, you know like a real family.”

Tony set his cup down and studied him, “Peter you are still so young, why would you want a child?” The boy shrugged, “I am not talking about going out and getting one right now but I…well just wonder if we would ever have one.”

Tony thought about it for some time, “I never thought about having children, I don’t think I would make a good father.” Peter smiled at him and reached out to take his hand, “I don’t know why you would think that but it is alright, we will talk about this as soon as you feel ready.”

Tony looked at his hand and sighed, “what if I never feel ready?” Peter didn’t stop smiling, he just shrugged, “well then I guess there is more Tony for me.” The genius barked out a laugh and Peter leaned over the table and kissed him.

“I love you Tony.”

“I love you too Ariel.”

Peter laughed and slapped his arm, “oh be quiet you and come down to the beach with me, I want to swim.” Tony grinned and quickly walked around the table to pick Peter up, “your wish is my command little flounder.”

The boy squealed as he was carried to the elevator and both laughed on their ride down. Tony rushed down the way towards his yacht and threw Peter into the water.

Peter transformed mid-air into a merman and splashed down into the water. Tony grinned and jumped after him. Peter laughed and shook his head, “you are a mad man Tony Stark.”

Tony grinned, “and you are the most beautiful fish in all the seven seas Peter Parker.” Both chuckled and Peter grabbed his hands, “how often do I have to tell you that I am not a fish.”

Tony grinned, “how about until the end of days?” He placed a kiss on his lips and Peter sighed.

“Until the end of days? Well sounds good to me my little human.”

The shared a long kiss before Peter propelled himself backwards through the water with a huge grin on his face, “catch me if you can.” Tony rolled his eyes, with his webbings he was a fast swimmer but nowhere near close to him.

“Must you mock me so relentlessly?”

Peter laughed, “I do, until the end of days.” Tony growled playfully and chased after his lover. He chased the one thing in his life he would never let anyone take from him. The one thing he would always love and cherish.

His one and only little mermaid, pardon merman.

~

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After credit scene

 

Fury closed his laptop and let out a breath, Hill next to him raised an eyebrow.

“Sir?”

The bald man shook his head, “how did I ever think Stark would think about anyone but himself? Man that guy has an ego larger than the fucking moon.”

Hill looked at her boss, “he does care about his husband and Miss Potts.” Fury gave her a look, “that thing is not his husband it is a fish disguised as a boy and since he is not a citizen of this country I will not see him as anything more.”

Hill sighed, “Sir Mr Stark is doing what you want, he keeps in contact with the Merfolk and helps them understand humanity maybe in a few years we will be able to make this official.”

Fury looked at her, “you know maybe you are right but maybe you are not, I don’t know all I know is that Dr Banner one of the brightest men of this time has disappeared, Stark is not suited for our initiative and there is no one else.”

He stood and walked up to the window, “Hill we are one step away from a total disaster.” The woman rolled her eyes, “Sir we still have the captain.”

Fury nodded, “aye the captain, the man out of time. Maybe he will understand my cause; he will make a suitable leader at least.”

Maria Hill kept her satisfied smile hidden from her boss as she turned and walked out of the office; maybe not everything had gone according to plan but when was that ever the case?

She strode through the hallway as the red haired agent walked up to her, “did you find him?” The woman nodded, “yes he is in India.” Hill nodded.

“Should I extract him?”

Maria shook her head, “no, not yet. Doctor Banner had a reason to leave and unless he causes trouble I think it is best we leave him alone.”

The Agent nodded, “alright, what is next then?”

The women walked into a lab where an elderly man greeted them with a smile, “ah Miss Hill, thank you for giving me that opportunity.” Maria gave him a look, not unkind but definitely not a smile, “actually Doctor Selvig, it was Fury’s idea to call you in.”

All three of them looked at the glowing cube in the middle of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it folks   
> I don't know if I write another story in that universe and I kind of added the after credits just for fun but maybe I will. 
> 
> For those who want more I will post another fic soon starring Vampire Tony and Human Peter I don't know yet if it will be Starker or more Iron Dad and Spider Son but we will see.   
> It will be called "Crimson Symphony " so look out for it. 
> 
> You can also always hit me up on Tumblr and ask questions and I also do oneshots for people who ask nicely.   
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/nijura108  
> So hopefully see you soon.


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